Waiting lists for primary care services in the community health organisation serving Clare, Limerick and North Tipperary have surged by more than 20% in the last year.
In that time alone, the list of people waiting over 18 months for an initial speech and language therapy assessment has grown by over 100.
At the end of last year, There were 23,853 people on primary care waiting lists in the MidWest, which is an annual rise of 23%.
The biggest increase was seen in Speech and Language Therapy, where 2,264 are awaiting an initial assessment.
This includes 112 people who’ve been on the waiting list for more than 18 months, this time last year, just six people were in the same position.
There was also a significant rise in demand for Physiotherapy assessments, with the waiting list growing by 28% in the last year to 7,612.
Psychology rose by 30% and now 978 patients are waiting for an appointment in the discipline.
For Audiology , the waiting list has grown by more than a quarter, with 2,582 patients in need of services.
This includes 700 patients over the age of 65 who have all been waiting more than a year.
The parliamentary response issued to Sinn Féin TD David Cullinane shows there has been some progress, however, with Podiatry waiting lists reducing by 34%, Ophthalmology by 27% , Speech and Language Treatment by 12% and Dietetics by 6%.
