Health service 'in crisis' as thousands in Cork wait more than a year for therapy 

Almost 10,000 people are waiting more than a year to access therapies via primary care in Cork, with almost half of those waiting for psychology treatment, new HSE data has shown.

A HSE spokesperson said: “A number of factors lead wait times to longer wait times, and these include a growth in demand for services and also vacant posts, which we are recruiting to fill”.

Data for physiotherapy, occupational therapy, psychology, dietetics, podiatry, audiology, ophthalmology, and speech and language therapy, broken down by time waiting and by area in Cork, shows that in total, 26,766 people are waiting to be seen, with 9,425 (or 35%) of those waiting more than 52 weeks.

Of the total number waiting, 10,628 are in North Lee, covering the northside of the city; 8,157 in South Lee; 5,610 in North, and 2,371 in West Cork.

The figures showed that a total of 6,025 people are waiting for psychological treatment, with 2,263 waiting in North Lee, 2,282 in South Lee, 937 in North Cork and 543 in West Cork. Of these, 4,148 are waiting more than a year to be seen.

Physiotherapy

There are 5,281 people awaiting physiotherapy assessments, with 1,678 waiting more than a year.

There are 6,278 people on occupational therapy waiting lists for assessments, with 1,750 people waiting over a year — those waiting 52 weeks or more are the largest time bracket for both specialities.

There are 2,236 people waiting for dietetics, 993 for podiatry, 2,748 for audiology, and 1,222 for ophthalmology — with 393, 600, 697, and 52 people, respectively, waiting for more than a year.

There are 1,983 people waiting for speech and language therapy, with 107 of these waiting more than a year, including three waiting for more than 18 months.

A breakdown beyond a year was not provided for any of the other specialities.

The HSE spokesperson said reducing waiting times “is a priority” for the service.

“We are actively working on strategies which include resource allocation; validation of waiting lists; streamlining processes and optimising existing workloads, as well as recruitment to vacant/replacement posts.

“All of these efforts and increased resources are directed at reducing waiting times.”

Unacceptable

Sinn Féin TD for Cork North Central, Thomas Gould, to whom the data was provided, told The Echo that the number of people waiting for months is unacceptable.

He said: “What we are seeing time and again is that the entire health service in Cork is in crisis.

“There is no area where people are not left waiting months, and years, for appointments. There is no excuse for constant delays.”

He said the lack of access to therapies has knock-on impacts across the board: “People lose jobs or can’t go out to work. People struggle to socialise or to move around.

“What was a small problem becomes life-limiting. We need the HSE and the Government to make the health service an attractive place to work and to ensure that there are sufficient therapists to deliver these vital services.”