'Every month we are seeing these figures creep up': Cork TD highlights rise in hospital waiting list figures

CORK TD Thomas Gould has raised concerns about the increasing number of people waiting for hospital treatment in Cork.

Speaking following the publishing of the latest National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) waiting list figures which showed that 84,522 people are on waiting lists across Cork hospitals, the Sinn Féin TD said the crisis is growing significantly month-on-month.

A total of 74,958 adults and 9,564 children were on waiting lists at Cork hospitals at the end of June, according to the latest NTPF figures.

The figures represent an increase in the number of people waiting at Cork hospitals since May 25 when a total of 84,504 were on waiting lists, including 74,981 adults and 9,523 children.

Nationally, as of June 29, there were 598,228 people on adult outpatient waiting lists, 67,927 of whom were waiting for treatment in Cork hospitals, an increase of 157 people since May 25 when 67,770 people were waiting for treatment in Cork.

The highest figure in Cork was at the CUH where there were 31,134 adults awaiting treatment, a decrease in the number of people awaiting outpatient care at the hospital since May when 31,731 adults were awaiting treatment.

This was followed by the South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital (SIVUH) where there were a total of 23,879 people awaiting treatment and the Mercy University Hospital (MUH) where there were 6,068.

On the child outpatient waiting list, there were a total of 9,053 children waiting for treatment at Cork hospitals at the end of June.

The highest number of children on waiting lists in Cork was at CUH where 5,491 children were awaiting treatment as of June 29, followed by SIVUH which had 2,818 children waiting for treatment.

Meanwhile, as of June 29 there were 74,196 adults on inpatient/day case waiting lists nationally, a decrease in the number of adults on inpatient waiting lists in May when 84,449 adults were awaiting treatment.

In Cork, there were 7,031 people on inpatient waiting lists. Of these, the highest number awaiting treatment in Cork was at the SIVUH where 3,546 people were waiting for treatment.

Nationally, there were 9,805 children on the child inpatient/day case waiting list, of whom 511 were waiting for treatment at Cork hospitals.

Deputy Gould said the most recent waiting list figures in Cork “represent the government’s complete failure to reform the health service and reduce waiting lists”.

“Every single month we are seeing these figures creep up and up. They represent the government’s complete failure to reform the health service and reduce waiting lists.

“This month has seen numerous scandals regarding the National Children’s Hospital which would play an important role in reducing these waiting times. We are still waiting to hear further details on the elective hospital in Glanmire, a vital cog in the plan to improve patients’ access to healthcare.”