Over 15,000 children face huge wait for hospital in west

The national body representing hospital consultants has called for ‘full transparency’ from Galway hospitals on the issue of children’s waiting lists – as it was revealed this week that over 15,000 children in the region are waiting to access treatment.

Saolta University Health Care Group – which operates UHG, Portiuncula and Merlin Park Hospitals – has 15,167 children and adolescents waiting for various surgeries and procedures from across the West and North West, according to data released by the HSE.

A large proportion of them are being treated by specialists only available at UHG, while many more are transferred to Dublin for more complex treatment.

Over 60,000 children are currently waiting for care at Dublin’s Crumlin, Temple Street and Tallaght Hospitals – a figure that includes patients transferred from the West.

The Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) has described them as ‘hidden children’ and called for UHG and other hospitals in the region to release a break-down of the numbers on each of their individual lists. Currently, these hospitals release figures that do not differentiate between adults and children.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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