Cork hospital waiting lists reduce slightly, but 85,345 still wait for appointments and procedures

Waiting lists in Cork have reduced slightly, with 75,220 adults and 10,125 children waiting for medical treatment across six Cork hospitals.

Monthly figures published by the National Treatment Purchase Fund show 85,345 people on waiting lists for inpatient and outpatient appointments and procedures in Cork at the end of September, a slight drop from 87,017 at the end of August. 

Of those, 19,141 have been waiting over a year, the majority for procedures at Cork University Hospital (CUH) or South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital (SIVUH).

CUH had the highest number of patients awaiting outpatient treatment, with 27,703 adults and 5,884 children, while SIVUH had 28,162 adults and 2,950 children waiting. 

Between these two hospitals, 16,184 people are waiting more than a year for treatment. 

There were a further 5,223 adults waiting for outpatient treatment in the Mercy, 3,997 adults and 526 children in Mallow, 2,235 adults and 62 children in CUMH, and 754 adults in Bantry.

Of these, 41,360 were waiting between zero and six months for outpatient treatment, 18,323 between six and 12 months, 8,027 between 12 and 18 months, and 9,875 for more than 18 months.

Lists were shorter for inpatient treatment in SIVUH, with 3,809 adult and 347 child patients waiting, and in CUH, where 1,409 adults and 355 children were waiting, but 1,070 patients of the two hospitals were waiting over a year. There were 574 adults waiting for treatment in the Mercy, 564 in CUMH, 460 adults and one child in Mallow, and 240 adults in Bantry.

“While we have seen improvements in waiting times and in the level of activity being delivered, increased demand and higher-than-anticipated levels of additions to waiting lists have resulted in the volume of patients waiting across lists remaining too high,” said a Department of Health spokesperson.

“Many individual hospitals have implemented measures to deliver impressive reductions in both their waiting lists and waiting times. For example, in Cork University Maternity Hospital, the IPDC gynaecology waiting list has been reduced by 25%, and the average wait time has improved by 1.2 months.”