The number of people waiting for an out-patient appointment to see a hospital consultant stands at nearly 500,000, new data shows. Figures published on Friday by the National Treatment Purchase Fund reveal there were 497,721 people on the out-patient waiting list nationally at the end of November. It is to be hoped that the increased funding in 2018 for the National Treatment Purchase Fund will enable some real and sustained progress to be made. We can’t go on with waiting times like these.”Overall there were 684,940 patients waiting for care around the country on various different types of waiting lists. Waiting for operationsThe number of people waiting for an in-patient procedure fell slightly over the last month to just under 80,600.

Source: The Irish Times December 08, 2017 18:22 UTC