The fact that almost 58,000 people are now waiting for care across hospitals in the Mid-West has been condemned as a “national disgrace” by a local lobby group. The Mid-West Hospital Campaign (MWHC) has claimed removing 24-hour casualty cover from Ennis and Nenagh Hospitals in April 2009 has resulted in 58,774 people waiting for public hospital inpatient/day treatment, GI endoscopies or an outpatient appointment with a consultant throughout the region. New figures released by the HSE confirm that one in every three (33%) approved permanent Hospital Consultant posts in the UL Hospitals’ Group are either vacant or filled on a temporary or agency basis – an all-time high 68 out of 206 approved Consultant posts3 – an increase of 16 posts not filled as needed since November 2020. Outpatient waiting lists at hospitals in the Mid-West region have almost doubled, with a 94% hike since 2015. The number of ‘long waiters’ on the list to be assessed by a consultant …
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