Half of all public patients in Ireland are on a waiting list for health care, the Irish Patients Association believes. 

Over the weekend figures were released that revealed that 1.3 million people in Ireland - over a quarter of the population - are on a waiting list of some kind. 

However, Stephen McMahon of the IPA said the list is disproportionately made up of people who are public patients: 

“I’d like to just put this statistic that’s out there about the one in four population [in context],” Mr McMahon told Newstalk Breakfast. 

“There’s 2.4 million people that have private health insurance. 

“So really we should be looking at waiting lists in terms of patients who don’t have private health insurance. 

“So it’s closer actually to one in two and that’s a stark performance. 

“Yes, there may be some waiting lists that private patients are on for service and the community but it’s a huge figure.” 

A nurse talks to a patient. Picture by: dpa picture alliance / Alamy Stock Photo

'Somebody to be accountable'

Mr McMahon says the health service does not even have up-to-date data in many instances and wants the Department of Health to appoint a person whose only job is to try and reduce the number of people on waiting lists: 

“One of the hospitals there, couldn’t actually really send in comprehensive statistics on it; Cork University Hospital, which has a population of 1 million,” he explained. 

“So if we don’t have the information systems that are robust [and] that you can actually tell people what the performance is it’s very difficult to actually manage that. 

“And that’s why we actually need somebody to be accountable for the overall governance and leadership and overseeing [of] these systems”. 

A hospital bed.

'Already too high'

The Department of Health has been contacted for comment; earlier this year Health Minister Stephen Donnelly announced a €350 million Waiting List Action Plan to address the problem: 

“We know, the number of people on waiting lists was already too high before the pandemic and now, following months of disruption to services, there are over 730,000 waiting for care in Ireland,” Minister Donnelly said as he launched the plan. 

"This Plan allocates €350 million to the HSE and NTPF to reduce waiting lists by 18 percent this year which will bring the number of people waiting to their lowest point in five years.” 

Areas of particular focus include cataracts, hip and knee replacements, as well as skin lesions.

Main image: An empty hospital bed for a sick patient with a fluid bag and pole at a patient room or ward or an examination room at the hospital