Numbers waiting for outpatient appointments rose by 33,000 since January

The NTPF confirmed that the number of patients waiting for their first hospital outpatient consultation had been falling in 2023, but has only increased in 2024. Picture: iStock

The number of people waiting for an outpatient appointment has jumped by almost 33,000 since January, new data shows.

The National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) has confirmed there are now 601,490 people waiting for their first hospital outpatient consultation, up from 568,691 in January. 

Between September and December 2023, there was a decrease in the number waiting, but it has only increased in 2024.

This upward pressure on services is similar for children and adults.

Some 87,100 people were waiting for inpatient treatment, namely an operation or other procedure, as of the end of August. In January, this figure stood at 86,288.

Endoscopy waiting lists for this internal exam which can detect cancer stood at 24,231, a slight decrease from 24,268 in January.

The Department of Health has defended the pace of tackling these waiting lists by saying the increase is down to the growing population and increasing number of older people.

The Department of Health and HSE say reduced time being spent on lists by individual patients is the relevant marker. HSE CEO Bernard Gloster told a conference recently: 

We’ve almost eradicated what used to be talked about —  the concept of people waiting four years. 

Reacting to the new figures, the Department of Health said these reflect “an increasing demand for care”, linking this to a growing and ageing population.

They acknowledged that “the number of patients on waiting lists has increased marginally”.

They added, “The figures also show, however, significant reductions in the number of patients waiting longest."

“There has been a circa 18% reduction in the total number of patients waiting over 12 months since this time last year, and a corresponding reduction of circa 28% in the number waiting over 18 months,” a spokesman said.

The average waiting time for patients on outpatient lists has reduced from 13.2 months in 2021 to just over seven months, he added.

The data provided by the NTPF only refers to hospital waiting lists. It does not, for example, cover waiting lists for community mental health or speech & language therapy.

Earlier this week, Social Democrats TD Roisin Shortall revealed data for community services showing almost 300,000 on what she described as hidden waiting lists, such as physiotherapy, including 17,000 people waiting more than a year.