A DISASTER WAITING TO HAPPEN.. » » »
‘More than 1 million people’ facing delays patients’ group fear spike in winter deaths Varadkar hits back at shocking statistics
MORE than one million people are on hospital waiting lists as the Government pretends the crisis is improving, it has been claimed.
Irish Patients Association chief Stephen Mcmahon also warned the knock-on effect to our health system could be deaths on wards this winter.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar attempted to downplay the seriousness of the situation when he was questioned yesterday, fobbing off suggestions the number facing delays could be so high.
The qualified doctor said: “There are not even that many sick, never mind on waiting lists.”
Official figures released by the National Treatment Purchase Fund showed 718,000 people, including 48,000 children, faced treatment delays.
But it has been claimed the situation is much worse.
Mr Mcmahon explained to the Irish Mirror there are hidden figures that are not included on the official roll calls.
These include those waiting for vital CT and MRI scans, occupational therapy appointments, or speech and therapy assessments – almost 200,000 people are in these categories. The NPRF headline figure also does not include the seriously ill that are deemed “not fit for surgery” such as scoliosis patients whose conditions have worsened so much it is not safe to have an operation.
The statistics also do not cover those who are awaiting diagnostic results. They are presumed to be in the system and not technically waiting anymore, even though it is not unusual to experience delays spanning months for results.
It has been claimed the figures are also massaged in a similar way to exclude those who have been passed from one specialist to another and must still wait many months more for a new appointment.
If even 100,000 are counted in these three categories, then the total has already topped one million, or almost one in four of the population.
Mr Mcmahon predicted the scandal is set to worsen over the winter months and he warned there could be deaths on the wards as a result of waiting lists and hospital overcrowding.
Consultants from the Irish Association of Emergency Medicine claimed between 300 and 350 patients could pass away in a bad winter due to swamped emergency rooms.
Mr Mcmahon has called for “realistic, unified waiting Irish Mirror stories list” figures to be published by the Government. He said: “It’s at least one million that is the real number of people waiting.
“The lack of a unified summary of waiting lists leaves the Government open to the accusation it is not being transparent.
“I’m very worried about the winter ahead. There is a real and present danger to people’s lives.”
When Mr Varadkar was asked about the figures yesterday, he replied: “There are not one million out of 2.4 million people on waiting lists.
“There are not even that many sick, never mind on waiting lists. “So when you see those figures, they include people who have an appointment already and are waiting to come in.
“They include people who are suspended from waiting lists; they include people who are waiting on things like annual checks for example – and obviously you have to wait for an annual check – and they also include a lot of double counting.”
Official number on our waiting lists
Number of children who face delays
Deaths forecast in swamped A&ES
Leo Varadkar yesterday