Over one lakh children waiting for hospital treatment in Ireland; Pediatric specialties without doctors!
DUBLIN: More than one lakh children are waiting for hospital treatment in Ireland due to shortage of consultants. Of these, 40,000 have been on the waiting list for more than a year.
Even some of those admitted to the hospital are not receiving treatment. The Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA), which released these figures, said the problem was exacerbated by the government’s and HSE’s unwillingness to hire enough consultants.
The figures contain data only up to May 13, due to the recent cyber-attack on the HSE, the association said.
Even this figure is incomplete because it excludes children waiting hospital diagnostics such as MRI scans or radiology. More than 8,000 children are waiting for CT scans, MRIs, and ultrasounds at CHI children’s hospitals. When they are added to the list, the total number exceeds one lakh.
Pediatric specialties without doctors
There is a shortage of hospital consultants in all pediatric specialties in the country. This restricts children from receiving high-quality medical care. IHCA President Professor Alan Irvine said the problem could only be solved by filling the vacancies in existing hospital consultant positions and hiring more consultants as needed.
The association says there are more than 95,000 children on some form of National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) waiting list. This includes 82,264 children on hospital outpatient waiting lists until May 13, 2021. Of these, 45% (37,350) have been waiting more than a year for outpatient appointments.
20,000 children in Dublin hospitals alone
In Dublin’s three children’s hospitals alone, nearly 20,000 children (47%) are now waiting more than a year to see a consultant. This is three per cent more than this time last year. The association also points out that the number of long waiters has increased fivefold in the last six years.
No treatment even in hospitals
As of mid-May, 7,698 children were on the Inpatient/Day Case waiting list. Of these, 4,235 children are waiting for day case treatment. Since the beginning of the year, 3,463 children have been waiting for hospital inpatient care, a 3% rise over the previous year. The waiting list is 17,893 for ENTs, 13,065 for pediatrics, 8,735 for dermatology, 6,851 for ophthalmology and 6,536 for orthopedics.
8,85,189 patients awaiting treatment in Ireland
According to NTPF data, 8,85,189 patients in Ireland are waiting to see a doctor, with nearly one-fifth (11%) of these being children.
“The early years in a child’s life are critically important to their lifelong health and development. With more than 100,000 children waiting for hospital treatment, our health service is failing our youngest patients during these essential, formative years by making them wait for essential treatment and care,” Prof. Alan Irvine said.
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