Surgical hubs announced in 2022 as quick-fix to waiting lists still not taking patients

Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly had told the Dáil in 2022: 'We believe we can have patients in these centres within 18 months'. Picture date: Friday January 12, 2024.

None of the surgical hubs announced in late 2022 as a quick-fix to hospital waiting lists are taking patients yet with only one set to do so by year’s end.

Among them, the Limerick hub has not even started construction yet, the Department of Health has confirmed. It had been expected to take no more than 18 months before opening from the announcement in December 2022.