Sláintecare targets are still decades away from being a reality, say Consultants
Today marks halfway point in Government’s 10-year plan, yet waiting lists and capacity deficits continue to grow as limited progress made
898,000 people on some form of NTPF waiting list; up more than 314,000 (54%) since publication of Sláintecare Report in May 2017; - Government’s landmark plan pledged shorter wait times for public hospital outpatient, inpatient/day case and diagnostic appointments, yet more patients are now waiting longer than ever;
- Stalled Consultant contract talks must be reconvened as a priority to address Consultant recruitment crisis.
Commenting today (Monday 30 May 2022) the Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) President Professor Alan Irvine said:
“Today marks 5 years since the Government launched Sláintecare, yet as we reach the halfway point of this a 10-year plan, we are faced with a health service, staff and patients who are suffering more than ever.
“There has been a 54% increase in people waiting on some form of hospital list since the plan was launched in 2017 – with almost 900,000 adults and children across the country in need of care, things are worryingly moving in the wrong direction1.
“The reality is that Sláintecare waiting list targets are not achievable because public hospitals have a severe shortage of Consultants, theatres, acute beds, diagnostic and other facilities.
“In fact, the targets that no-one should wait more than 12 weeks for an inpatient procedure, 10 weeks for an outpatient appointment and 10 days for a diagnostic test are unlikely to be met within the lifetime of the plan.
“This plan needs to be resourced properly, yet 5 years on and Sláintecare is still failing on these important factors and is not delivering on capacity and staffing commitments.
“Unless Government and health service management seriously address the root causes of these continuing deficits, it could be decades before the waiting time goals can be achieved2.
“It is imperative the 838 vacant Consultant posts are filled if we are to effectively address the record public hospital waiting lists. To achieve that, the Minister for Health must appoint a replacement Independent Chair in agreement with the representative organisations to immediately restart the hospital Consultant contract talks to improve Ireland’s recruitment competitiveness and agree practical solutions to resolve the decade long deficits in Consultant staffing.”
ENDS
Notes:
1. Analysis based on latest NTFP data available, as at 28th April 2022: https://www.ntpf.ie/home/nwld.htm
2. Inpatient/day case waiting list and backlog for hospital treatment are estimated at 460,405, comprising the current inpatient/day case waiting list of 79,943 and the 380,462 fewer hospital treatments in 2020 and 2021. Outpatient waiting list and backlog are estimated at 1,107,738, based on a reduction of 482,965 outpatient appointments over the past two years compared with 2019 outturn and a current outpatient waiting list of 624,773. If inpatient/day case and outpatient activity were both increased to 103% of 2019 levels (an additional 52,260 IP/DC procedures and 100,650 OP appointments), the waiting lists and backlog may not be cleared for a further 9 and 11 years respectively. The additional €200m allocation under the Department of Health’s 2022 Waiting List Action Plan intends to fund the assessment or treatment of just 136,000 additional patients.
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