More than 1,400 people waiting on rheumatology treatment in Cork hospitals

A total of 1,427 people are awaiting rheumatology treatment in Cork hospitals, and almost 90% have not even been given an appointment yet, new data shows.

Rheumatology is a medical specialty focused on the diagnosis and treatment of autoimmune diseases, joint and muscle pain, and inflammatory conditions.

There are 975 people awaiting treatment in Cork University Hospital (CUH) and 452 in South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital (SIVUH), the HSE data shows.

In CUH, there are 873 people waiting who do not even have an appointment date yet — 436 of these patients have been waiting up to three months.

Just 102 people on CUH’s waiting lists have been given an appointment date so far.

The CUH figure marks an increase from the 692 people awaiting rheumatology treatment there in August 2024.

In SIVUH, 368 people have no appointment date. Of these, 159 have been waiting less than three months.

There are 84 people who have an appointment date, 24 of whom have been on waiting lists less than three months.

Waiting lists too long

The data was provided to Sinn Féin TD for Cork South Central, Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire, who said: “Right across our healthcare system, the waiting lists are far, far too long.

“It has a huge impact on the quality of people’s lives.

“The targets for disciplines such as rheumatology are meant to be about 10 weeks under Sláintecare but we see that there are more than 40 people waiting for longer than a year in the South Infirmary and a significant amount — over 143 people — waiting longer than six months in CUH. 

"While progress has been made in this regard, it still has a huge impact on the ability to ensure people are diagnosed appropriately, and that interventions can be made at the right time.”

Mr Ó Laoghaire added that rheumatic diseases and conditions can be potentially debilitating in the long run, and he called for further investment to recruit additional staff.

“We need to ensure that the staffing required is actually put in place because too often recruitment processes are far too slow,” he said.