Waiting lists top 900,000 for first time, as Consultants warn of worsening crisis

• Record 908,519 people now on some form of NTPF waiting list; 
• 652,498 people are awaiting an outpatient appointment with a consultant, up more than 51,000 (+8.5%) on the same time last year; 
• More than 268,500 are waiting longer than a year for a public hospital outpatient appointment for assessment  - up 15% since July 2020 and a 7-fold increase over the past seven years; 
• 20,513 patients are waiting over a year for hospital care, a massive 88-fold increase in such long waiters since 2012;
• Government must work with consultant representatives to fill the 1 in 5 permanent consultant posts that are vacant to reduce waiting lists;
• Consultant contract discussions critically important to fill vacant consultant posts and enable public hospitals to provide high-quality care to patients without unacceptable delays

IHCA Vice President Prof Rob Landers: “For the first time ever, and as unfortunately predicted, more than 900,000 people are now on some form of a public hospital waiting list to be treated or assessed by a consultant. Every single one of these represents a person and a family seeking healthcare, often while experiencing pain, suffering and the psychological distress at not knowing when they will be able to receive treatment. As Hospital Consultants, we want to help alleviate this distress and provide the care they need. But in order to do this effectively,  the consultant recruitment and retention crisis must be addressed effectively to fill the one in five permanent consultant posts that are currently vacant or filled on a temporary basis.”

The Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) has today (Friday, 20 August 2021) expressed its extreme concern at the new record number of people now waiting for an appointment to be treated or assessed in public hospitals.

The IHCA has said the low number of consultants due to the difficulty in filling permanent consultant posts is the root cause of the unacceptably long waiting lists, which totalled more than 900,000 for the first time in July. 

The latest National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) figures released today show that a record 652,498 patients were awaiting an outpatient appointment with a consultant, up 51,136 (+8.5%) on the same time last year. More than 268,500 of these are waiting longer than a year to be assessed by a consultant - up 15% since July 2020 and a 7-fold increase over the past seven years. 

The Association warned in recent days that the waiting lists were due to reach such record levels and were likely to worsen in the coming months as more people who have put off seeking care because of concerns about Covid now present for care. The IHCA fears the waiting lists are inexorably climbing to the 1 million mark. 

A further 20,513 patients are waiting over a year for hospital inpatient/day case care, an increase of 3,916 or 24% in the past year and a massive 88-fold increase in such long waiters since 2012, when the then Minister for Health imposed pay discrimination on hospital consultants appointed after that date. 

Adding all the additional waiting lists for GI endoscopies, pre-admissions, planned procedures, or outsourced procedures and appointments brings the total number on some form of NTPF waiting list to 908,519.

The IHCA said that the shocking increase to over 908,000 people on NTPF waiting lists is the strongest indicator yet that the immense backlog of care is dangerously close to overwhelming our public hospitals. This is due not only to the pandemic or cyber-attack on the HSE, but the persistent underinvestment in hospital infrastructure, bed capacity and Consultant recruitment over the past decade and more.

Yet even this 908,519 figure still does not represent the full picture as it does not include those waiting for hospital diagnostics such as MRI scans or radiology. More than 200,000 people are also waiting for diagnostic scans such as MRIs, CTs and ultrasounds, with a quarter of these (50,472) waiting over a year.* These are not on any NTPF list, so public hospital waiting lists already well exceed a million people waiting for hospital treatment.

Commenting on today’s waiting list figures, IHCA Vice President Professor Rob Landers, said:

“For the first time ever, and as unfortunately predicted, more than 900,000 people are now on some form of a public hospital waiting list to be treated or assessed by a consultant. Every single one of these represents a person and a family seeking healthcare, often while experiencing pain, suffering and the psychological distress at not knowing when they will be able to receive treatment. As Hospital Consultants, we want to help alleviate this distress and provide the care they need. But in order to do this effectively, the consultant recruitment and retention crisis must be addressed effectively to fill the one in five permanent consultant posts that are currently vacant or filled on a temporary basis.

“Today’s statistics are a reminder that despite the success of the vaccine roll-out, the hard work and dedication of front-line doctors and their colleagues, together with the resilience of the public, our public hospitals now face a challenge of almost equal magnitude to Covid. We need multi-annual budgeting from the Department of Health to bring together a plan to sort this problem out once and for all.

“Reducing the record 908,519 people on some form of waiting list will take years to achieve but will result in better outcomes for patients and better use of scarce hospital resources. This will only be possible by filling the one in five permanent hospital consultant posts that are currently vacant or filled on a temporary basis and appointing significant additional consultants. The success of the proposed new consultant contract negotiations will be critical to filling these posts and to the survival of our public health system for years to come.” 

ENDS

1. https://www.ntpf.ie/home/nwld.htm. 
2. There were 203,976 people awaiting diagnostic scans at the end of Q1 2021; Ministerial response to PQs 2344-2385 from Deputy John Lahart, 21 April 2021.

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