HSE halves long-term waiting list to 1,700 patients
The Health Minister Simon Harris has said the HSE has halved the number of people on long-term waiting lists.
New data from the National Treatment Purchase Fund shows a 50% drop in those waiting 18 months or more for in-patient or day procedures.
Minister Harris said 11,500 people have come off waiting lists since August. There is no patient waiting more than 36 months.
There are still more than 1,700 patients who have been waiting more than 18 months for treatment, however.
At the end of July the number of patients waiting more than 18 months constituted 4.5% of the total inpatient/daycase waiting list. At the end of December, this had reduced to 2%, which the Minister said was "the culmination of five months of very intensive work by HSE management and hospitals".
"There is no doubt that there are still 1,700 too many patients waiting 18 months or more for their inpatient/daycase procedure. However, I am determined that waiting list initiatives during 2017, which will be implemented collaboratively by the NTPF and HSE, will ensure that our longest-waiting patients receive the care that they need," he added.
