17,000 ‘hidden’ children awaiting treatment in S’west

ALMOST 17,000 children, the equivalent of the entire population of Ballincollig, are awaiting medical treatment in hospitals in the southern regions.

This is the startling revelation made by the Irish Hospitals Consultancy Association as the group’s president, Dr. Donal O’Hanlon, expressed his concern over the failure to publish figures from children separate from adult figures.

Newly published data revealed that there are now 16,938 children waiting for hospital care in the SSWHG, with the majority likely to be waiting to access care at Cork’s main acute public hospitals.

“That almost 17,000 children, equivalent to the entire population of Carrigaline or Ballincollig, are waiting for hospital care across the South-South West Hospital Group’s acute public hospital, is hugely worrying,” said Dr. O’Hanlon.

“The figure also excludes the hundreds of additional Cork children waiting for care at National Children’s Hospitals in Dublin.”

“The fact that this information is not published on a regular basis does not make the agonising wait for children and their families any less real or less damaging for the children whose healthy development is on hold”.

The Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) has today called for “full transparency” on the numbers of children waiting to access treatment in the South-South West Hospital Group’s (SSWHG’s) public hospitals.

The call comes after newly published data revealed that there are now 16,938 children waiting for hospital care in the SSWHG, with the majority, likely, to be waiting to access care at Cork’s main acute public hospitals.

The data was released by the HSE to Fianna Fail’s Health Spokesperson, Stephen Donnelly TD, last week.

According to the IHCA the data reveals the ‘full extent of the problem’ which children and their families are experiencing across Cork and the wider Munster region in accessing timely hospital care.

Currently, data on the number of children waiting for care at the Children’s Hospital Group, encompassing Crumlin, Temple Street and Tallaght Hospitals, is published each month. The most recent figures (to end October) showed over 60,000 children waiting for care at these three hospitals.

However, acute public hospitals across Ireland, such as the Cork University Hospital or the Mercy Hospital, do not publish stand-alone data on the number of children waiting to access their services.

Rather, the monthly data published on the number of patients waiting at hospitals such as these does not distinguish between adults and children.

Nationally, excluding the Children’s Hospital Group, there are a further 57,000 children waiting in Ireland’s regions to access public hospital treatment, with almost 17,000 of these on SouthSouth West Hospital Group’s waiting lists.

Adding together both the Children’s Hospitals and regional hospitals, there is now a total of 117,000 children waiting for hospital care.

The figure does not include children waiting for hospitals diagnostics such as MRI scans or radiology. The HSE does not currently capture this data.

“The solution lies in addressing our acute public hospital bed shortages and the ongoing consultant recruitment crisis which are both adding to the long waiting lists faced by our children,” said Dr. O’Hanlon.

“Minister Harris must now commit to publishing data each month on the number of children waiting for hospital care,” he added. “We cannot meaningfully address the impact of tens of thousands of children waiting for care unless there is transparency on the full extent of the problem.”