STARK WAITING TIME FIGURES AT LOURDES
STARK figures about the numbers of people waiting for medical care at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda have been revealed by Louth TD Gerry Adams, as the debate, in the wake of last week’s Prime Time documentary on waiting lists, intensifies.
The Louth deputy received a detailed response to a parliamentary question about inpatient and outpatient waiting lists at the Drogheda hospital which show that there are 12,014 on the outpatient waiting list, with 10,264 still waiting for an appointment date. The figures also show how 4881 patients have been waiting for more than six months for an appointment, while 408 have been waiting for an appointment for more than 15 months.
There are 19 patients waiting for an appointment for general surgery for more than 15 months and 18 patients have been waiting for an appointment for gynaecology for more than 15 months.
There are 1310 patient s on the inpatient waiting list and 695 are adults waiting for speciality appointments, eg general medicine, general surgery and cardiology.
Just over 280 have been waiting for more than six months, including 21 women waiting for more than six months for a gynaecology appointment.
And 272 children are waiting inpatient appointments of those 212 have been waiting more than six months.
Speaking in the Dáil during the special debate on health, Mr Adams highlighted ‘ the perpetual crisis within the health service’. He also spoke of his worries about the impact of the nurses strike on health care.
He said: ‘ The nursing staff so a remarkable job under the most difficult conditions. They deserve our support and solidarity’.
Mr Adams expressed ‘deep concern at the scale of the waiting list’ at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, as well as within the health service generally.
He said: ‘ The statistics are stark and of concern. The staff in all of our hospitals do a remarkable job in difficult conditions. Regrettably, there is a complete lack of accountability. The Minister is not accountable. The Taoiseach is not accountable; not while he has the sup- port of Fianna Fáil’.
And Fianna Fail’s Declan Breathnach said Louth patients ‘are angry and frustrated following revelations about hidden waiting lists within the health service’. He said: ‘What is even more disturbing is the fact that the number of people on these lists is so much higher than we were led to believe’.
Meanwhile, SIPTU members at the Louth County Hospital and Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, along with colleagues around the country on Monday voted in favour of strike action on March 7, the same day as 30,000 nursing staff are due to start a work to rule.