Patients wait 480 days for appointment

Figures produced as part of the pilot "HealthStat" programme, which compares performance in different hospitals, show that the Mid West Regional Hospital in Limerick had some of the longest average waiting times, among larger hospitals, for a consultant clinic outpatient appointment, writes Martin Wall

The figures for the end of October reveal that the average waiting time for an appointment at a consultant clinic from the time of referral by a GP was 480 days in Limerick.

However, within specific specialties in the hospital the waiting time for an outpatient appointment was longer. The figures show that the average waiting time for an outpatient department appointment to see a general surgeon was 600 days.

The average waiting time for a general medicine outpatient appointment was 520 days.

In University College Hospital Galway the figures show that the average waiting time for an outpatient department appointment was 410 days.

Within individual specialties the waiting time for a general surgical appointment was 290 days and 350 days to see a consultant at a general medical out-patient clinic.

Overall the figures show wide variations in waiting times in different parts of the State.

Within the main teaching hospitals in Dublin and in regional hospitals around the Republic, the average waiting time for an outpatient appointment was 180 days. However, at St Vincent's University Hospital in Dublin, the average waiting time for an appointment was 90 days with shorter waiting periods in some specific specialties.

At St James's in Dublin the average waiting time for an outpatient appointment to see a consultant was 100 days.

At Connolly Hospital the waiting time was 160 days while at Tallaght it was 250 days.

In general hospitals, which would have fewer specialties, the picture for waiting times to see a consultant was also mixed.

The HealthStat figures are currently being drawn up on a pilot basis. However, it is understood that the HSE intends to publish these statistics officially from the spring.