Hospital waiting lists in Kilkenny and across country ‘spiralling out of control’

Hospital waiting lists in Kilkenny and across the country are “spiralling out of control,” according to local TD Kathleen Funchion.

And Deputy Funchion urged Heath Minister Stephen Donnelly to take charge of the growing crisis ahead of Sinn Féin Private Member’s Bill setting out measures to curb waiting lists.

The Carlow-Kilkenny TD said: “The hospital waiting list crisis can and must be fixed. Waiting lists have spiralled out of control and now over 900,000 people are on a healthcare waiting list. There is hardly a family in the country which is not affected by this scandal.

“Waiting lists are up more than 15% since the beginning of the pandemic and have almost doubled since 2014.
“The health service is not fit for purpose and needs major investment to boost capacity if it is to tackle waiting lists.

“Behind record waiting times are stories of pain, worsening condition, delayed diagnosis and treatment, stress, and worry. The human cost is very real and very urgent.

“We also need delivery of a major increase in beds, staff, and diagnostic capacity to meet current needs and tackle waiting lists.

“Care can’t wait and waiting lists are having a catastrophic impact on people who feel abandoned on them with little hope of getting the care they should be entitled to.

“They are also creating problems for people who are receiving a late diagnosis or who may have developed a condition but cannot find out due to diagnostic waiting lists.”

The Carlow-Kilkenny TD said Minister Donnelly must “deliver a major capacity boost” to alleviate the waiting list crisis in next month’s Budget.