Tag Archives: Waiting lists

THE “catastrophic” impact of Covid-19 on Mid-West health services came sharply into focus this week with confirmation the number of public inpatients waiting for treatment has soared by almost 40%. New figures published by the National Purchase Treatment Fund have revealed the number of public inpatients waiting for treatment jumped by almost 40% from 4,798 on January 30 to 6,676 on October 30. This includes 2,266 inpatients waiting for treatment at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) and 621 in Ennis Hospital. The numbers on the outpatient list also grew by 16% from 47,184 in January to 54,759 in October. There are 42,777 outpatients in UHL, 7,235 in Croom, 2,026 in Ennis, 1,296 in Nenagh and 1,425 in St John’s Hospital waiting for treatment. Deputy Michael McNamara described the increase as “alarming but not surprising” in view of the cancellation of elective surgery. “I raised the issue of health services with the HSE and with former Health Minister Simon Harris in the …

THE devastating impact of migraine has prompted a West Clare woman to appeal to the public and the medical community to educate themselves about the condition, and to highlight the situation of those on public waiting lists who can face waiting up to two years to access diagnostic tests. Michelle is 36 years of age and has suffered debilitating migraines since her late teens. Her condition is so severe that she can have migraines for up to 25 days a month. She also experiences what are known as hemiplegic migraines. These cause symptoms similar to stroke and can involve inability to speak, loss of vision and partial paralysis. She has urged fellow sufferers to seek support from the likes of the Migraine Association of Ireland (MAI) and to advocate for treatment in cases where their GP or other medical professionals write off their symptoms as ‘just a headache’. Over the years, Michelle has been prescribed multiple kinds of treatments, none …

WAITING lists for procedures at public hospitals could reach one million, the Clare-based Chairperson of the Special Committee on Covid-19 Response, has been told. At a meeting of the committee, Deputy Michael McNamara was told by Dr Anthony O’Connor, a member of the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) consultants’ committee, that the delays in routine care in the public sector because of Covid-19 had created that possibility. In response to a question from Deputy McNamara as to what waiting lists in the public health system were likely to be in at the end of the year, Dr O’Connor warned, “Unless we get the system back up and running for routine care in the public sector, we could be looking at one million people by November or December.” Deputy McNamara also questioned Professor Alan Irvine of the Irish Hospital Consultants’ Association (IHCA) about increasing non-Covid capacity at the so-called ‘Model 2’ hospitals, which includes the likes of Ennis General. “Tier 2 hospitals are …