Waiting 15 months for appointments in Nenagh

Over 270 on hold to be seen by gynaecologist in local hospital

Women are waiting an average of 455 days for outpatient gynaecology appointments at Nenagh Hospital, according to information provided in the Dáil by the Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly.

The figures recorded up to the end of January this year reveal that the local hospital has the third highest waiting time in the country for gynaecology appointments.

Another hospital in the Mid-West, Ennis, had even a longer waiting time, at 506 days, while Tallaght University Hospital heads the national list with a waiting time of 652 days.

The number of women now waiting for an outpatient gynaecology appointment nationally at the end of January stood at 30,805.

This figure includes 272 who were waiting to be seen at Nenagh Hospital.

University Hospital Limerick had the highest number of women waiting for an appointment in the Mid-West - 1,455 - while 599 were waiting to be seen at Ennis Hospital.

There was also a long waiting list - 500 - at Tipperary University Hospital in Clonmel.

Sinn Féin has urged Mr Donnelly to act now to end long gynaecology waiting lists. Party TD Sorca Clarke, speaking in the Dáil, challenged the minister “to end the scandal of these out of control waiting times”.

She said the 30,805 women who are waiting for a gynaecology appointment in January comes on top of another record high at this time last year when 30,180 women were on the waiting list.

Deputy Clarke said a perfect storm was being created in in women’s healthcare. “This is a crisis, impacted by Covid yes, but not caused by Covid. While Covid may have contributed to the waiting lists, it has exposed the chronic and unacceptable delays in women waiting on vital appointments that already existed.”

Deputy Clarke said women seeking appointments were suffering for debilitating conditions such as abnormal bleeding, fibroids, Endometriosis, Ovarian cysts and Prolapse.

“Behind these numbers, there are 30,805 women stressed and anxious waiting for healthcare. Delayed appointments lead to delayed care, which can in turn lead to delayed diagnoses and delayed treatment. This is unacceptable,” said Deputy Clarke.

Minister Donnelly, in written replies, said he recognised that waiting times for scheduled appointments and procedures have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. While significant work continued to positively impact on waiting times and improve pathways to elective care, acute hospitals have been impacted by operational challenges arising from surges in cases related to the Delta and Omicron Covid variants.

“The HSE has confirmed to the department that patient safety remains at the centre of all hospital activity and elective care scheduling. To ensure services are provided in a safe, clinically-aligned and prioritised way, hospitals are following HSE clinical guidelines and protocols,” the minister indicated.

He added that the Department of Health continues to work with the HSE and the National Treatment Purchase Fund to identify ways to improve access to care, including through increased use of private hospitals, funding weekend and evening work in public hospitals, funding “see and treat” services, providing virtual clinics, and increasing capacity in the public hospital system.