Hospital Waiting Lists Are Growing Larger Despite Assirances From Minister Harris And The HSE And Work Must Be Redoubled On This Problem Until We Have a Successful Conclusion.
Despite repeated attempts to tackle the problem by a number of Ministers and the HSE, hospital waitng lists continue to grow with an extra 2,500 people joining the list in November to bring the total up to a staggeribg 538,000. I note that the number of those waiting of an endoscopy procedure is down but in overall terms the total is rising. The fact that the extra 20 million Euro earmarked to tackle this problem will kick in after January the 1st is welcome but it remains to be seen if this will make a sizeable difference.
A comprehensive plan to tackle these unacceptable lists is required in the new year once and for all. People who are waiting on waiting lists for an extended time to see a specialist or have a procedure carried out are anxious and worried and those with ongoing conditions are becoming more ill which is an extremely serious situation. This is an onging problem for several years now but continued and even more determined efforts must be made to tackle this crisis once and for all.
