There’s been a 68% jump in the number of people waiting a year and a half or more on an outpatient appointment at University Hospital Limerick.
The latest figures from the National Treatment Purchase Fund show that at the end of last month, 6,841 people were waiting at least 18 months for these appointments.
The National Treatement Purchase Fund’s latest report shows that as of the end of January, some 34,133 people were waiting for both inpatient and outpatient appointments at the region’s main hospital.
That marks a 4% annual increase and a 0.9% rise on the figure a month previously.
But in terms of long-term waits for outpatient appointments, there was once again a worrying jump.
This January, 6,841 were listed as waiting at least 18 months on an appointment, up from 4,073 a year ago – that’s a 68% year-on-year rise, while the monthly figure is also an increase of around 450.
In Ennis General, meanwhile, a total 2,267 were waiting across inpatient and outpatient appointments last month – that’s up from 2,060 a year ago, or a 10% rise.
The UL Hospitals Group says the figures are largely in line with expectations, and says it looks forward to the announcement of the Outpatient Action Plan which is being finalised by the HSE, the NTPF and the Department of Health to tackle the issue.
UL Hospitals Response:
THE latest NTPF figures for UL Hospitals Group and nationally are in line with expectation.
They reflect national policy as announced by the Minister for Health where a focus would initially be placed on those waiting longest for inpatient and day case procedures. At University Hospital Limerick, there was an overall decrease in patients waiting of approximately 14% year-on-year as of the end of January 2019 and of those waiting longer than 12 months for an inpatient/day case procedure, the decrease was approximately 56%.
In relation to outpatients, there was an overall increase of 6% (from 30,125 to 31,834) in persons waiting for an appointment over the 12-month period. Those waiting longer than 12 months rose by 24% over the same period, from 8,697 to 10,763. These numbers should be seen in the context of almost 150,000 outpatient attendances in UHL and almost 217,000 attendances across the Group in 2018.
UL Hospitals Group notes the increased allocation to the National Treatment Purchase Fund in 2019 and looks forward to the announcement of the Outpatient Action Plan which is being finalised by the HSE, the NTPF and the Department of Health. This plan is focused on improving overall use of resources to tackle long outpatient waiting times and to ensure more timely access to treatment and care for patients.
The above is not to minimise in any way the anxiety experienced by patients waiting for appointments. All patients who are waiting for appointments are prioritised according to clinical need with urgent cases being the highest priority. Beyond this, UL Hospitals Group will continue to focus on seeing and treating those who have been waiting the longest.
Among the reasons for the overall increase for the Group is the significant growth in demand; an increase in the number of urgent referrals in some specialties, such as ENT and Orthopaedics, and a shortage of consultants in other specialties. New consultant surgeons in ENT and orthopaedics have recently taken up post. In addition, the opening of the new cataract only theatre in Nenagh Hospital is having a knock-on effect in helping reduce OPD wait times in ophthalmology.
