A Clare health campaigner claims questions need to be answered following a significant drop in waiting lists at the region’s hospitals.
The latest figures from the National Treatment Purchase Fund show the number of people waiting to see a Consultant in the MidWest has dropped by almost a fifth in the year to November.
The drop has been broadly welcomed, but one West Clare Councillor is questioning how this region got it right, in the face of a national failure to reach waiting list targets.
The latest figures from the NTPF show there were just over 42,000 people waiting to be seen at Ennis Hospital and University Hospital Limerick last month.
This represents a 20% drop in numbers, compared to the same period last year.
The number waiting more than a year and a half for an outpatient appointment at UHL has gone down by 73% to just over 8,100.
Despite this, those still awaiting inpatient appointment at both hospitals jumped by a third.
West Clare Councillor Cillian Murphy, who is a member of the HSE Regional Health Forum West has described the reduced figures as exceptional, but he feels they lead to more questions than answers.
One campaigner has raised concern though that increased numbers travelling to the North for surgery has driven the drop.
Barefield Independent Councillor Ann Norton says many elderly people are being caught out by costs they weren’t aware of and she’s worried over the impact of this.
Listen back to the full interview here:
