Outpatient waiting lists at UHG and Merlin Park were the worst of all the public hospitals in the country again last year.

New figures show that, at the end of December, there were 47,666 adults and children waiting for their first appointment to see a consultant at the two hospitals.

Nationally, the next biggest outpatients’ wait was at the Mater in Dublin at 38,378, followed by UH Waterford at 38,303.

A Connacht Tribune analysis of the official figures from the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) shows that at the end of December 2023, 8,809 adults and children were waiting 18 months or longer for their first outpatient appointment at Galway University Hospitals (the HSE’s ‘umbrella’ title for UHG and Merlin Park), while the figure in Portiuncula was 114.

The figures show a decrease of 35% on the previous year in those waiting more than 18 months or longer for a first outpatient appointment (down from 13,621) in UHG and an 82% reduction in Portiuncula (from 634).

For the children’s lists specifically, there were 5,713 waiting in GUH (1,000 waiting more than 18 months), down from a total of 5,815 a year earlier. There were 951 children waiting 18 months and over at the end of 2022.

A breakdown of the data show that overall, the Health Service Executive has made inroads on waiting lists for outpatient cases in GUH – they are down 9% from 52,449 in December 2022.

Caption: UHG…outpatient figures.

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