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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.”

As many as 900,000 people could be on some form of acute public hospital waiting list when latest data is published;   Number of people waiting for inpatient or day case treatment has grown by more than 31,000 in the past decade – an increase of 69%;  100-fold increase in those waiting on same list for longer than 12 months since May 2012 (from 199 people to 20,820 in May 2021); In addition, due to insufficient consultant staffing and vacancies, a further 286,000 people are waiting on public hospital outpatient lists to be assessed by a consultant compared with 2014, an increase of 84%; Covid-19 & HSE cyberattack cannot mask long-standing capacity and consultant deficits in the Irish healthcare system; Consultants call for expedited planning from Government to urgently address waiting lists, deficits, and staffing;  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, Professor Rob Landers: “Over the last decade, the situation has progressively deteriorated to a point where we are now in an absolute crisis. The Government and health service must stop hiding behind the pandemic and cyberattack as the main reasons for our growing waiting lists. We need multi-annual budgeting from the Department of Health and to bring together a plan to sort this problem out once and for all.”

131,000 people waiting to see a Consultant in the South/South-West Hospital Group in May - an increase of 37% or 35,000 additional people in six years; 69,000 people are on outpatient waiting lists in Cork hospitals, a fifth more (+11,000) than in 2015; Inpatient and day-case numbers waiting have increased by 17% in SSWHG and by 42% in Cork Hospitals since 2015;  30-fold increase in number of patients waiting longer than a year for treatment in past 9 years;  Severe shortage of hospital consultants in Cork and SSWHG is main contributor to the unacceptable delays and growing waiting lists; around 1 in 5 permanent consultant posts in the SSWHG region are unfilled; Recruitment crisis exacerbated by current proposals for a new consultant contract. IHCA President Prof Alan Irvine: “The severe shortage of hospital consultants in our public health service in Cork and the southern region is the main contributor to the unacceptable delays in providing care to patients. These growing waiting lists are not simply a result of Covid-19 but demonstrate the impact of years of consultant shortages and underinvestment in capacity across public hospitals in the region.”   

Impact of consultant shortages a direct cause of growth in children’s waiting lists as over 100,000 wait for essential care and almost 40,000 on lists longer than a year.   “An issue existing prior to and only made worse by the pandemic, our health system is failing the most vulnerable in Irish society due to the state’s inability to address the chronic consultant recruitment and retention crisis” – Prof Alan Irvine, President, IHCA.  95,321 children on some form of NTPF waiting list to be treated or seen by a consultant; 1 in 9 of all those waiting for care; Over 100,000 children waiting for hospital treatment as additional 8,000 awaiting diagnostic scans not included in NTPF waiting lists; 82,000 children on hospital outpatient waiting lists with over 37,000 (45%) waiting longer than a year. Further 7,700 children on Inpatient/Day Case waiting list, with more than 1 in 3 waiting long than a year for hospital treatment. New approach needed to address record waiting lists as 1 in 5 permanent consultant posts remain vacant and Government continues to provide no meaningful solution.   

Record 883,727 people now on some form of NTPF waiting list; Department of Health unit established to improve access to care and reduce wait times fails to stem escalating hospital waiting list crisis over the last three and a half years;  21,420 patients now waiting longer than one year for essential hospital treatment;  Crisis in unscheduled care returns with highest number of patients treated on trolleys since start of pandemic, causing further cancellation of scheduled care; Government must work with consultant representatives to fill the one in five permanent consultant posts that are vacant to bring waiting lists down. IHCA President Professor Alan Irvine: “By any standards this is a very disappointing performance. The Department of Health’s unit should be an imaginative solution-focussed hub and incubator for new ideas. This requires shared leadership and collaborative engagement with hospital consultants who provide the medical and surgical care and their representatives to ensure an improved public hospital service for the Irish people.”

Acute hospital figures at tipping point - as Covid restrictions and vaccine roll out strive to reduce daily case numbers, non-Covid care waiting lists skyrocket.  Hospital Consultants call for Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly TD to uphold his commitment to address root cause of 728 vacant consultant posts and subsequent record waiting lists.  Lack of resolution to the consultant recruitment and retention crisis has contributed to some hospitals experiencing a 100% increase in inpatient waiting lists in the last year alone and a total of 881,621 now waiting for care, nationally.  IHCA President Prof Alan Irvine: “Last October, the IHCA welcomed the ‘unambiguous commitment’ by Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly TD to address the root causes of Ireland’s chronic consultant recruitment and retention crisis, including the restoration of full pay parity. Failure to uphold that commitment and to engage in meaningful discussions with hospital consultants have contributed to an addition of 38,258 people to hospital waiting lists in the period since. While the Minister has worked to reduce Covid sickness and death since October, he and his officials must look to address the unacceptable delays in providing care to non-Covid patients and ever-growing waiting lists.”

876,968 people now on some form of NTPF waiting list;  Large increases in outpatient waiting lists for General surgery (34%, +11,412), Orthopaedics (17%, +10,951), Gynaecology (13%, +3,622) and Dermatology (12%, +4,888); 56% increase in the number of patients waiting for hospital pain relief treatment since pandemic began; over 1,700 now waiting longer than a year for treatment – more than a three-fold increase since February 2020; While 153,000 fewer outpatient public hospital appointments now expected in 2021 through National Service Plan;  Lack of a plan to fill over 700 permanent consultant posts. IHCA President Prof Alan Irvine: “Today’s NTPF waiting list figures, which confirm almost 877,000 people are now on some form of NTPF waiting list, again highlight the impact of hospital consultant shortages and capacity constraints on those waiting for an outpatient appointment and related treatment. Timely access to care is vital in ensuring effective treatment and care for patients.” 

Commenting on the latest National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) waiting list figures, Professor Alan Irvine, President, Irish Hospital Consultants Association, said: 

9,248 added to adult general surgery outpatient waiting list in 2020; 4,133 more waiting over a year to see a consultant since start of year, an increase of 152%;  Paediatric surgery outpatient list has more than doubled since start of the year, with 2,107 more children waiting to see a hospital consultant; 2,419 (25%) additional patients waiting for inpatient/day case general surgery; 40% increase in paediatric surgery inpatient/day case waiting list since the start of the year; More than a fifth of all hospital consultant posts are now vacant or not filled as needed.  IHCA President Prof Alan Irvine: “Today’s NTPF waiting list figures again highlight the impact of hospital consultant shortages and capacity constraints on those waiting for an outpatient appointment and related surgery and treatment. Each statistic represents a person waiting for the care they desperately need, while potentially deteriorating clinically or living in pain.”