30/07/2014

Hospital Waiting Lists 'Spiraling Out Of Control'

Minister for Health Leo Varadkar has been urged to tackle hospital waiting list before "the crisis spirals out of control", Fianna Fáil spokesperson on Health Billy Kelleher has said.

Deputy Kelleher highlights that the latest figures reveal another increase in the number of patients waiting more than a year for an outpatient appointment.

According to the figures at the end of May there were over 343,000 people on an outpatient list, up from just under 339,000 the previous month.

"These figures reveal the enormous scale of the crisis that Minister Leo Varadkar has inherited from his predecessor." Deputy Kelleher said.

Adding: "Despite numerous promises and assurances that waiting lists are decreasing, the latest statistics expose the fact that waiting times are actually on the rise.

"Minister Varadkar has a massive challenge ahead if he is to improve the system. The gross mishandling of the health service over the past three years has resulted in problems that are now ingrained in hospitals across the country."

(MH/CD)

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