Almost 3,000 adults & children hoping to see a consultant in the MidWest were waiting a year and a half or more at the end of May.
The latest figures from the National Treatment Purchase Fund show that waiting lists at Ennis General & University Hospital Limerick are continuing to fall on a monthly basis.
A total of 30,034 adults were waiting for inpatient or outpatient appointments at UHL or Ennis Hospital in May, representing a marginal increase on the previous month.
However there has been a marked drop off in the number of patients waiting 18 months or more to see a consultant in the region.
2,985 adults were waiting a year or more for appointments at UHL at May’s end, 591 less than the figure recorded at the same juncture in April.
At Ennis Hospital, there were 14 adults waiting the same length of time.
There was an increase in the number of children on waiting lists across the two hospitals however, rising to 4,675 , with 274 waiting 18 months or more for a consultatnt at UHL, in addition to two in Ennis.
The specialty of Opthamology had the he highest numbers waiting lengthy periods for engagements at UHL while Cardiology services were most in demand at Ennis.
