Hospital waiting lists for children up 26% as winter looms

THE Irish Hospital Consultants’ Association (IHCA) has raised concerns about the spike in the number of children on hospital waiting lists as flu season approaches.

The IHCA warned that waiting lists for child inpatient and day-case treatment have increased significantly over the past year with severe overcrowding expected in paediatric hospitals this winter.

Over the past year, the child inpatient and day-case waiting lists combined have increased 26%, compared with a 1% increase in waiting lists for adult inpatient and day-case treatment.

The National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) figures show that there were 93,641 people on waiting lists in Cork, 16,632 of whom were children.

As of October 26, there were 7,675 children on inpatient waiting lists across Cork hospitals.

There were also 8,957 children on outpatient waiting lists, 7,124 adults on inpatient waiting lists, and 69,885 adults on outpatient waiting lists in Cork.

IHCA president, Professor Rob Landers, said: 

“Thousands of children are not getting the care they need in a timely manner, which is resulting in the real possibility that they will suffer serious and lasting health and developmental issues that could have been reversed or mitigated against, if only the hospital capacity existed to ensure they can be provided with the care they need on time.

“As consultants, we need and want sustainable solutions to help alleviate the distress caused to those on unacceptable waiting lists and provide the care patients of all ages so desperately need. But we are not being given the opportunity to do so, with little reprieve in what is now a year-long overcrowding crisis.” Mr Landers said that Budget 2024 did not contain the required funding to build and open the 1,500 rapid-build additional hospital beds or the four elective hospitals included in the Sláintecare Plan in 2017.