Prof Alan Irvine, President of the IHCA
We must plan for future as waiting lists grow, warns IHCA
Plans to tackle growing waiting lists after the current surge in Covid-19 cases ends must begin now, the President of the Irish Hospital Consultants Association has said.
New figures from the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) showed there were now 838,675 people in Ireland in the queue for hospital treatment.
By the end of 2020, the number waiting on an outpatient appointment to see a specialist had increased by 50,000 since the start of 2020 to 606,230.
The NTPF data released last Friday (January 15) also showed that 72,475 patients were waiting for inpatient or day case treatment, while 32,539 were waiting for a gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy.
Hospitals face national emergency amid third wave
Updated / Monday, 11 Jan 2021
17:05
Hospitals across the country are facing a surge of Covid-19 patients
The President of the Irish Hospital Consultants Association has said the current situation in Ireland s acute hospitals is truly a national emergency .
Speaking on RTÉ s News at One, Professor Alan Irvine said that the acute hospital system is under the greatest pressure that it s ever been in living memory .
He said 1,000 people have been admitted with Covid-related illnesses to acute hospitals since 2 January and these admissions are doubling, in both intensive care and general acute beds, every week.
Record waiting lists a consequence of hospital consultant shortage, says IHCA
Soaring hospital waiting lists highlight the impact the consultant shortage is having on patient care, the Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) has said.
Latest figures from the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) showed that the consultant waiting list surged by 152 per cent over the past 12 months.
The number of people waiting more than 12 months to see a specialist, according to the NTPF, has increased by 4,133 since the start of the year; while, at the same time, 9,248 individuals have been added to adult general surgery outpatient waiting list.
“Each statistic represents a person waiting for the care they desperately need, while potentially deteriorating clinically or living in pain,” IHCA President