The numbers waiting for a hospital appointment in the MidWest dropped by almost 30% in the year to January.
The latest figures from the National Treatment Purchase Fund show there were a total of 37,185 patients waiting to see a consultant at Ennis Hospital or UHL last month.
Last January, almost 50,000 adults and children were waiting for a hospital appointment at either Ennis Hospital or University Hospital Limerick.
Fast forward twelve months and this has dropped to just over 37,000 patients – a drop of nearly 30%.
However, despite the overall decrease in the numbers waiting to see a consultant, the numbers waiting for an inpatient appointment in the region soared this January.
The waiting list for inpatient appointments at Ennis hospital grew by over 73% from 176 in 2022 to 381 last month.
A similar trend was seen at the region’s main hospital.
There were almost 2,100 on the list last year compared to the more than 2,800 waiting this January.
The numbers waiting for an outpatient appointment at both hospitals dropped signifcantly in this timeframe.
There were 45,600 waiting for such an appointment at UHL last year, compared to 33,000 last month.
While, there were 2,100 on the list at Ennis Hospital in 2022 compared to 900 this January.
