PATIENTS at Letterkenny University Hospital are among those experiencing the lengthiest delays for an overnight hospital bed for surgery.
That’s according to the publication of new outpatient attendance data.
The Department of Health and the Health Service Executive (HSE) have started publishing league tables revealing waiting times for surgery and outpatient appointments.
The data is being collated from hospitals around the country, and comes as the health service is coming under increasing pressure to show value for money in light of its €1.5 billion additional cash injection last week.
Letterkenny University Hospital is one of the worst performing hospitals in the country in having patients delayed for over 12 months, with nearly half in the queue for for over a year.
It’s followed by St Luke’s in Kilkenny, Portlaoise Hospital, Galway University Hospital, St James’s Hospital, Cork University Hospital and the Mater Hospital.
An outpatient attendance dashboard can be viewed on the HSE website. It shows the month the monthly average attendance per speciality in 21 hospitals.
It will be updated monthly and is broken down by hospital and speciality for public GPs to help with referrals.
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly brought a memo to the Cabinet last week outlining how continued future development funding will be prioritised to hospitals and services that demonstrate they are maximising existing funding.
Receive quality journalism wherever you are, on any device. Keep up to date from the comfort of your own home with a digital subscription.
Any time | Any place | Anywhere
SUBSCRIBE TO CURRENT EDITION TODAY
and get access to our archive editions dating back to 2007(CLICK ON THE TITLE BELOW TO SUBSCRIBE)