More Than 1,700 Clare People On Eye Treatment Waiting Lists

More than 1,700 people in Clare are on waiting lists for eye care treatment.

Almost half of these patients have been waiting for more than 18 months for a procedure.

Figures released to Sinn Fein by Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly show of the 1,749 patients waiting for ophthalmology procedures in May of this year, more than 1,500 are for outpatient surgeries and the others are day cases.

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44 percent of patients here have been waiting for longer than a year and a half – since before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A further 14 percent of patients have been waiting between 12 and 18 months for a procedure.

Just five counties have more patients waiting for outpatient eye surgeries than Clare – they are Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Tipperary.

Indeed, outpatient waiting lists in the Midwest for ophthalmology services account for around 14 percent of the national total.

The Department of Health insists a high-volume consultant-led cataract theatre in Nenagh has alleviated waiting lists in the region, while €240 million has been provided in Budget 2021 for an access to care fund.