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Mid-point of Action Plan shows increases in waiting lists, as new data reveals worsening Hospital Consultant staffing crisis – IHCA 890,800 people on some form of public hospital waiting list; up more than 20,700 this year and by an additional 307,000 people since Sláintecare; 17,165 added to three main waiting lists in the first half of 2023, missing Government reduction target by 51,650; €443m Waiting List Action Plan unlikely to meet target of reducing waiting lists by 69,000 (10%) by end of 2023;   Number of unfilled Consultant posts rises to 933 – a 28% increase (+206) in vacant or temporary filled posts in just two years; Urgent action needed to address public hospital capacity deficits and Consultant vacancies, say Consultants. IHCA President Prof Robert Landers: “The 2023 Waiting List Action Plan has reached its halfway point but is nowhere near achieving the reduction targets set for the end of the year. The Government needs to urgently increase public hospital capacity to treat the increasing number of patients on waiting lists.” The Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) has today (Friday 14 July 2023) warned that inaction by the Government to urgently address the root causes of hospital capacity deficits and Consultant shortages will mean the targets set out in its Waiting List Action Plan for 2023 will not be achieved. 

893,600 people on some form of NTPF waiting list; and a further 250,000 people waiting for diagnostic scans; Hospital cancellations could exceed 250,000 this year if rate continues; with 85,000 operations and appointments already cancelled to end of April; ED attendances increased by 461,000 (38%) over the past decade, with average wait times now approaching 12 hours – double the target in 2013;  It is the first time in six months that the number of people on the outpatient waiting list has totalled over 600,000; IHCA President Prof Robert Landers: “The Minister for Health recently announced a rapid build programme to deliver 1,500 additional beds in acute public hospitals to be opened this year and in 2024. The Government needs to commit the promised €1 billion capital budget for the additional capacity urgently.” Patients have been subjected to a decade of overcrowding in our emergency departments (EDs) which continues to drive up waiting lists for hospital treatment and negatively impact patient outcomes, Consultants have warned.

While number of people waiting more than 12 months for hospital treatment starts to climb again, Government can deliver immediate improvements – say Consultants ED attendances up 104,000 compared with 2019, leading to 41,000 cancellations in first two months of 2023; Over 1.1m people waiting for some form of hospital care - with 888,600 people on NTPF waiting lists1 and a further 250,000 people waiting for diagnostics2; Number of 'long-waiters' for treatment has increased by 12% since start of the year; and has risen 22-fold over the past decade;  IHCA President Prof Robert Landers: “It is only when hospital and step-down care capacity levels are increased sufficiently, and additional Consultants appointed, will we see treatment volumes in public hospitals match demand and effectively reduce current unmanageable waiting lists on a sustainable basis.” The Government has a real opportunity to address overcrowding and start to tackle extreme waiting lists in Irish hospitals within the next two years, Consultants have said. 

Government must reduce record 95% bed occupancy rates by rapidly delivering extra capacity in our hospitals if waiting lists are to be addressed; 41,000 appointments and operations cancelled in January and February alone will further increase pressure on Waiting List Action Plan for 2023;  885,600 people on some form of public hospital waiting list at end of March; an increase of 15,500 since the start of the year and an additional 300,000 (52%) compared with May 2017 when Sláintecare published; Consultant vacancies remain at record high of 915 permanent posts vacant or filled on a temporary basis;   IHCA President Prof Robert Landers: “Occupancy rates at this extreme level result in regular bed shortages, increased numbers of admitted patients being treated on trolleys, higher levels of healthcare acquired infections and cancellation of appointments in addition to growing waiting lists.”  The Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) has today (Friday 14 April 2023) warned that waiting list reduction targets for 2023 will never be met unless hospital bed occupancy rates are significantly reduced by rapidly delivering extra capacity in our public hospitals.

Lowered reduction targets for end of 2023 dependent on removing record 146,000 patients through ‘validation’ of lists 14,800 people added to three main waiting lists in the first two months of 2023, missing Government reduction target by over 26,000; Consultants criticise lack of ambition of Government’s new Action Plan which lowers previous reduction target of 18% to 10% this year; a 4% reduction was achieved in 2022; Projected cuts in waiting lists are dependent on NTPF removing 146,000 people without any treatment through ‘validation programme’; more than double the validation target of 60,000 in last year’s Action Plan;   885,000 people on some form of public hospital waiting list at end of February; an increase of 300,000 (52%) compared with May 2017 when Sláintecare published;   Latest €443m Action Plan unlikely to meet waiting list targets unless Government addresses public hospital capacity deficits and Consultant vacancies, say Consultants. IHCA President Prof Robert Landers: “The NTPF figures released today confirm our fears that these waiting lists may take a decade or more to get under control without simultaneously resolving the severe capacity deficits in our public hospitals and filling the one in five Consultant posts vacant or filled on a temporary basis.”

Waiting List Action Plan fails to deliver as almost 900,000 people on hospital waiting lists, 900 patients treated on trolleys and over 900 Consultant posts vacant, says IHCA

€70 million allocated to Waiting List Action Plan left unspent as one-fifth of the population remain on waiting lists  

1 in 12 children are on some form of hospital waiting list due to growing Consultant vacancies and worsening capacity deficits, says IHCA  98,000 children on some form of NTPF waiting list; more than 1 in 4 (27,000) waiting longer than a year for treatment or assessment in public hospitals, due to capacity deficits and an extreme shortage of Consultants; Additional 8,000 children awaiting diagnostic scans at the three Dublin children’s hospitals not included in NTPF waiting lists;  21 additional children (+9%) added to waiting lists for scoliosis related surgeries since start of the year; Record 918 permanent Consultant posts not filled as needed at end of September, 23% of the total approved posts; an increase of 190 unfilled Consultant posts (+26%) in past two years; New Consultant contract must provide attractive working conditions to persuade Irish trained specialists to return home from abroad, fill the vacant Consultant posts and address unacceptable waiting lists. IHCA President Prof Robert Landers: “The monthly NTPF figures have recorded 98,000 children on waiting lists for hospital care, with more than one in four of these children waiting longer than a year to be treated or assessed in public hospitals due to capacity deficits and an extreme shortage of Consultants. This is resulting in thousands of children not getting the care they need in a timely way, and the real possibility that they will suffer health and developmental issues that could have been reversed or mitigated against if only they were seen in time.”   The Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) has today (Friday, 11 November 2022) expressed its extreme concern at the number of children now waiting for an appointment to be treated or assessed in public hospitals.

Latest waiting list figures expose real impact of Government’s decision in 2012 to cut new Consultant pay Outpatient waiting lists have surged by 240,000 (62%) and Inpatient/day case waiting lists have increased by almost 30,000 (60%) over the past decade; More than a 100-fold increase in patients waiting longer than a year for hospital treatment; Number of permanent Consultant posts not filled as need has increased exponentially in past decade to more than 900, 22% of the total approved posts;  New Consultant contract must provide attractive working conditions for existing Consultants, doctors in training and specialists abroad required to fill vacant posts in our public hospitals. IHCA President Prof Robert Landers: “Irish patients have suffered a decade of despair because they are continually denied the timely hospital treatment that they need due to the increasing shortage of hospital Consultants. Since the salary inequity was imposed the number of permanent Consultant posts not filled as needed has increased exponentially to more than 1 in 5. Government policy is driving Consultants abroad, where they are welcomed with adequate staffing levels, funded services and better conditions.”

No waiting list plan will ever work without addressing shortage of Consultants Waiting lists may increase by over 20,000 in 2022 instead of target reduction of 132,000 (18%) despite €350 million Waiting List Action Plan;  Record 910,000 people on some form of public hospital waiting list – surpassing previous high set in September 2021; up more than 68,000 (8%) since August 2020; 49,500 people removed from waiting lists without any treatment in first six months of 2022 through ‘validation’ of lists at a cost of €3m;  Number of unfilled Consultant posts rises to over 900 for first time as spend on medical agency staff increases by 25% in first half of 2022 compared with same period in 2021; Urgent action needed to address public hospital capacity deficits and Consultant vacancies. IHCA President Prof Alan Irvine: “Not one of the 45 actions listed in the 2022 Waiting List Action Plan addresses the fundamental issue of the overwhelming shortage of Consultants, public hospital beds, theatre and other frontline resources. The Government and health service management needs to engage with the IHCA and agree a realistic and properly funded plan with ambitious waiting lists targets. This can only be achieved by addressing the ongoing and deteriorating Consultant recruitment and retention crisis and ending the pay discrimination imposed on Consultants appointed since October 2012.”