Waiting lists likely to stagnate or rise in 2023 as hospital activity yet to bounce back to pre-pandemic levels
Deficits in hospital capacity and Consultant vacancies hampering the return of planned medical and surgical activity to the level seen before the Covid-19 pandemic, says IHCA
877,600 people on some form of NTPF waiting list at the end of January 2023; 101,000 (+13%) more than in the same month in 2020;- Inpatient/day case waiting list at highest level since June 2020, with 83,477 patients awaiting treatment;
- Increased volume of activity will only be achieved by addressing the twin deficits of public hospital capacity and a shortage of Consultants.
IHCA President Prof Robert Landers: “Consultants are very concerned not enough is being done to increase hospital capacity so patients can be treated as needed. It is only when capacity is increased and additional Consultants are appointed will we see treatment volumes in public hospitals grow significantly above pre-pandemic levels. That will start to address the backlog of care and bring waiting lists down.”
The number of people waiting for essential care is unlikely to reduce in the year ahead due to ongoing hospital capacity deficits and record numbers of Consultant vacancies, the Irish Hospital Consultants Associations (IHCA) has warned.
Latest figures released by the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTFP) today (Friday 10 February) reveal that there were 101,000 more people on hospital waiting lists at the end of January 2023 than there was three years ago pre-pandemic.1
A total of 877,685 people were on some form of NTPF waiting list at the end of January, which is an increase of 13% compared with the same month in 2020.
Waiting lists for inpatient/day case treatment have increased by almost a quarter (24%), or by 16,100 additional patients, over the same three-year period, to 83,477. This is the highest level it has been since June 2020 when there were 84,223 awaiting a hospital procedure.
Analysis from the IHCA shows that an additional 32,900 (+6%) people have also been added to outpatient waiting lists since January 2020.
Last month was the first time since August 2022 that the outpatient waiting list has increased compared with the previous month’s figure. The number of ‘long waiters’ waiting over 18 months for an appointment has also increased month-on-month for the first time since January 2022 to 95,500 – an increase of 1,200 in a single month.
Such long waits for assessment and treatment are associated with worse patient outcomes and can lead to additional demands on healthcare resources due to the additional treatments required to manage symptoms.
These excessive wait times have also fed into the record attendances and overcrowding witnessed at our Emergency Departments in recent months, as patients awaiting scheduled treatment have been forced into the more chaotic and costly emergency treatment route. This in turn has contributed to the cancellation of thousands of hospital procedures every month, pushing waiting lists up even further in a continuing ‘vicious cycle’ in our health service.
Commenting on the latest waiting lists figures, IHCA President Prof Robert Landers said:
“Consultants are very concerned not enough is being done to increase hospital capacity so patients can be treated as needed. It is only when capacity is increased and additional Consultants are appointed will we see treatment volumes in public hospitals grow significantly above pre-pandemic levels. That will start to address the backlog of care and bring waiting lists down.
“The three main waiting lists covered by the Government’s Waiting List Action Plan,2 which was published in February last year, have decreased by just 22,000, or 3% compared with the start of 2022, instead of the 18% reduction target. Comparing the waiting lists with pre-pandemic levels reveals that even these small gains mask a worsening situation facing the over 1 million people awaiting an outpatient appointment, diagnostic scan3 or inpatient/day case procedure.
“The majority of the reductions in waiting lists that we have seen can be put down to an aggressive ‘validation programme’ by the NTPF that saw over 71,000 people removed from the waiting lists without any treatment in the first nine months alone of 2022.4
“We will only see significant progress in reducing waiting lists by addressing the ongoing lack of public hospital capacity and shortage of Consultants. In particular, the Government needs to urgently put in place credible plans to fill the 918 permanent Consultant posts, 23% of the total number approved, that cannot be filled as needed.”
ENDS
Notes:
1. Latest NTFP data as at end January 2023: https://www.ntpf.ie/home/nwld.htm
2. Waiting List Action Plan, 25 February 2022: https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/323b5-the-2022-waiting-list-action-plan/
3. There were 251,039 people on waiting lists for CTs, MRIs or ultrasounds nationally at the end of 2022: Dáil PQ response from Minister Stephen Donnelly to Deputy Neasa Hourigan, 25 January 2023: https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/question/2023-01-25/179/
4. Dáil PQ response from Minister Stephen Donnelly to Deputy John Lahart, 13 October 2022: https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/question/2022-10-13/388/
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