SPECIAL REPORT: Wait for answers goes on as hospital lists lengthen and women's lives put at risk

If you’re looking for its Achilles heel, you won’t find it in the labour wards or the neonatal unit. But are colossal gynaecology waiting lists threatening the reputation of Ireland’s newest maternity hospital? Health Correspondent Catherine Shanahan says consultants are at breaking point and women’s lives are being put at risk

THE figures are staggeringly high, and are rising.

In January 2016, 3,512 women were awaiting outpatient appointments for gynaecology services at Cork University Maternity Hospital (CUMH). Of these, 93 had been waiting 18 months or more. By June, the numbers had climbed to 3,859, with 371 having waited more than a year and a half.