Orthopaedic waiting list rises to 900 patients

There are almost 900 people waiting for orthopaedic procedures at University Hospital Galway (UHG), according to new figures obtained by Fianna Fáil.

The party’s Galway East TD, Colm Keaveney said the swell in the waiting lists for hip and knee operations is frightening, and evidence of a deeper malaise in the public health system.

There are now 895 people waiting for treatment and an orthopaedic procedure – a jump of 40% compared with three years ago.

“The huge rise in the number of people waiting for procedures at UHG is further proof of the gross mismanagement of our health service by this Government. Many older, vulnerable people are being forced onto growing lists and expected to tolerate bone and joint pain while they wait for an appointment for a knee or hip replacement,” said the Tuam-based Deputy.

He said the health system is in crisis, and the litany of problems experienced in UHG’s Emergency Department is having a knock-on effect in other areas of the service.

“Waiting lists have rocketed for both in and outpatient procedures. Minister Leo Varadkar’s attempts to massage the figures by changing waiting list target times cannot cover up the facts – more people are waiting longer for treatment. It is fast becoming the latest in a series of real health emergencies.”

Deputy Keaveney pointed out that the situation in Galway is replicated right across the West and North West. In Mayo, orthopaedic lists have increased by 51%, while in Letterkenny they’ve jumped by 44% since 2012.

“This Government has failed in every Budget to assign the necessary resources to fund our health service adequately. Minister Varadkar made a song and dance last October, telling everyone that he had secured an increase in the health budget for the first time in seven years. Yet in the following months we have seen trolley figures reach unprecedented levels and waiting lists for assessments and appointments are continuing to grow.

“The current situation is a scandal. The Government needs to assess where its priorities lie. There is another Budget around the corner and unless adequate funding is allocated to the health service, this will continue to spiral out of control,” the TD added.