Independent TD Mattie McGrath has described the current waiting times for ENT Outpatient appointments for residents of Tipperary as an absolute disgrace. Deputy McGrath was speaking after he received confirmation from University Hospital Waterford that a Clonmel constituent will have to wait at least 36 – 48 months for an ENT appointment despite an application being made in early December of 2018:
“These kinds of waiting times beggar belief. What on earth is going on within the health service when accessing a simple Outpatient appointment is taking on average three to four years, at a minimum.
What is even more alarming is that in its reply to my office following the representations I had made for a constituent, UHW told me that they were “unable at this this time, to provide a specific appointment date.”
For all intents and purposes this means there is no meaningful access to ENT Outpatient services for patients within the UHW catchment area.
I appreciate that UHW is committed to working with the National Treatment Purchase fund in an effort to reduce wait times across Specialties, but these kinds of delays are a national disgrace.
By and large, these are not problem created by our Hospitals. They are instead the direct product of the chaos and dysfunction that the current Minister for Health, Simon Harris is allowing to unfold and he must be held accountable,” concluded Deputy McGrath.
