Hospitals dashboard data must be seen in proper context, say consultants

The Irish Hospital Consultants Association was responding to the launch by the Department of Health of its new interactive hospitals dashboard. Stock picture

Consultants have warned that Irish hospitals are facing “a capacity crisis” and have argued system change is needed rather than focusing on any one profession.

This is in response to the Department of Health's new productivity dashboard which went online on Thursday.

Among the data made public for the first time is the number of out-patient appointments per consultant per year. The data shows this stood at 1,686 in 2016 when the workforce was 1,812 doctors.

Last year this reached 1,216 and the workforce was 3,061 doctors.

'Proper context' 

The Irish Hospital Consultants Association said it welcomes the focus on transparency but called for “proper context” to the figures.

It said the OECD does not see the number of doctor consultations per person as a valid measure of productivity. The IHCA said:  

Consultations differ in complexity, duration and impact, and the metric fails to reflect the significant volume of care provided to hospital inpatients, as well as time spent on diagnostics, research, clinical governance and administration.  

It called for analysis to reflect outcomes not just the volume of patients.

The doctors called for investment in “diagnostic staff, modernised outpatient scheduling, faster turnaround for test results, and the expansion of multidisciplinary support teams”.

They argued the problems are “fundamentally a capacity crisis, not a productivity issue involving any one group of staff”. It added: “We are absolutely committed to doing more, but we cannot do it alone.” 

The dashboard, which can be read on the Department of Health’s website, also looks at individual hospital productivity.

Department officials said they would not say “there is one clear winner” among hospitals. 

They said however the analysis showed University Hospital Limerick, Connolly Hospital and Tallaght University Hospital were the best performers based on their starting positions.

A graph with this data shows levels of investment, recruitment and care given excluding work in emergency departments between 2019 and 2024.

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This shows University Hospital Limerick had the greatest increase in activity at 36%, following a 43% increase in workforce and 58% increase in funding in those years.

In that time also University Hospital Waterford saw an increase in activity of 17%, following also a 43% rise in staffing and 57% increase in spending.

Cork University Hospital had an increase in activity of 13%, following a 64% increase in funding and 32% increase in staffing numbers during that time.

• You will find a link to the hospitals dashboard on this page on the Department of Health website.