'Vulnerable' patients being removed from Cork hospital waiting lists without receiving treatment 

VULNERABLE people are being removed from Cork hospital waiting lists without ever receiving any treatment, a Cork GP has said.

Figures revealed to The Echo under the Freedom of Information Act show that almost 80,000 people on waiting lists for outpatient and inpatient appointments in Cork were sent letters asking if they still needed treatment in 2023 as part of a National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) validation scheme.

This scheme involves hospital administration contacting patients on waiting lists to ensure that they are still available to attend appointments or require their procedure, as some may have made alternative arrangements such as a private appointment due to the length of time waiting.

Of 79,779 people who were sent letters from six Cork hospitals asking if they wanted to remain on the waiting list, 12,269 people did not respond, and 13,346 were taken off the lists.

Dr John Sheehan, a GP in Blackpool and Fianna Fáil councillor for Cork City North West, said patients being removed from lists they wanted to stay on is something he sees “on a regular basis”.

Dr Sheehan said that his practice often has to write to hospitals to get people back on the lists.

Cork University Hospital sent out the most letters at 41,774, followed by South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital at 18,238, the Mercy University Hospital at 12,754, Mallow General Hospital at 4,755, Bantry Hospital at 1,456, and Cork University Maternity Hospital at 802.

Overall, just over 15% of those contacted did not reply, and just under 17% were taken off the list, suggesting that only 1,077 responded saying that they were happy to be taken off the list as they had received treatment elsewhere, while the remainder were removed for not replying.

“There is difficulty with these letters for a lot of people,” Dr Sheehan explained.

“There could be language barriers, or literacy issues, and the system not designed for people who move around — if you’re a young person or student or new to the country, the letter could go to an old address and suddenly you’re taken off the list.

“It’s a significant concern for us,” he said.

“We get notified about some of these people getting taken off, some we don’t, if we do we often contact the patient, and frequently they have not heard anything about it.”

Another vulnerable group who might not reply to their letters despite wanting to stay on the list is older people, he said.

“They get a letter saying they’re on the list, then six months later another asking if they still need the treatment.

“They may not realise or may have forgotten what it’s about, and they are often afraid to do anything, with all the scams going around, many are nervous to reply to anything.”

Dr Sheehan called for a digital system to be used instead of relying solely on letters.

“People tend to hang onto their mobile phone number longer than their address,” he said. “It’s generally the more vulnerable patients that this happens to: They come in, they think they’re on the list because they haven’t heard anything about being taken off it,” he said.

The Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) previously noted that the three main waiting lists reduced by just over 3% last year, considerably less than the 10% target reduction, saying that modest reduction in waiting lists would not even have been achieved had it not been for the fact that so many people were removed from the lists without treatment.

A spokesperson for the South/South West Hospital Group told The Echo: “The use of the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) is a core element in the delivery of timely clinical care to patients and also ensures waiting lists are accurate.

“The programme is just one of a number of initiatives introduced across the HSE that has successfully led to an ongoing reduction in waiting lists.”