20,000 people with respiratory problems waiting to be seen

MORE than 20,000 people with respiratory problems are on waiting lists, including almost 1,800 children, latest figures show.

Over a quarter of those people have been waiting for more than 18 months. Independent TD Denis Naughten, who obtained the figures, said this comes at a time when many people were suffering the effects of long Covid, and when the Government’s ‘buzz word’ of ‘air quality’ was being used to justify the ban on turf and smoky coal.

Mr Naughten said figures he had received from the HSE show that 20,632 adults and children are on waiting lists for respiratory appointments and 5,771 of those have been waiting more than 18 months. ‘Looking at Galway University Hospital alone, since last October the waiting time for a respiratory appointment has increased from 18 months to a whopping 42 months,’ the Roscommon-Galway TD said.

‘When we are dealing with the effects of long-Covid, why are we seeing huge increases in the waiting time for respiratory outpatient appointments?’

He questioned why the health service was not using the National Treatment Purchase Fund to address these waiting times, by paying for public patients to be treated in private hospitals.

Responding in the Dáil, Green Party

Leader Eamon Ryan said: ‘I do not know whether [the waiting list] is a reflection of long-Covid and the impact on respiratory illness, or if it is just a reflection of the ongoing reality that it is a huge and acute health issue in our country, which is why we have to address the wider issue.’

The Asthma Society said that in a recent survey of 433 parents or carers, 25% of children waiting for a referral to a consultant were waiting over three years, with an additional 20% waiting between one and three years. Sarah O’Connor, chief executive of the society, said access to timely and appropriate healthcare was a huge issue for both adults and children with asthma.