Waiting lists for community healthcare have grown by more than 50 per cent in five years, according to new data.
An analysis of Health Service Executive figures by Sinn Féin suggests that in May there were 233,766 people on waiting lists for assessment or community services given outside hospital settings such as occupational therapy, speech and language therapy and physiotherapy.
This compares with an overall figure of 148,697 in May of 2019, said Sinn Féin health spokesman David Cullinane.
“Primary and Community Care waiting lists have increased by 57 per cent in five years since 2019,” he said, adding the number of people on a waiting list for more than 12 months had more than doubled over the five years.
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In its response to a request for an update on waiting list figures by Mr Cullinane, the HSE said that the Covid-19 pandemic posed “significant challenges for many service areas”.
This has resulted in an increase in those waiting,” it said.
A HSE spokesman said that the numbers being seen in these services — which also include dietetics, psychology, podiatry, ophthalmology and audiology — actually grew last year, with just under 1.4 million patients seen.
“However, while the number seen grew by six per cent, the number of referrals grew by seven per cent, hence the increased waiting list,” the spokesman said. The growth in the rate of referrals for primary care therapies is mainly being driven by increased demand for children’s services, according to the HSE.
“Children’s services by their nature are more complex in presentation and require more attendances compared to services for adults,” the spokesman said, adding that so far this year, referrals have grown by another 0.5 per cent compared to last year, with increases particularly notable in physiotherapy, psychology, dietetics and audiology.
A core focus of the State’s Sláintecare strategy is to move care out of acute hospital settings and into community settings, where possible.
He called for community care waiting lists to be disclosed monthly in the same way hospital waiting lists are published.
“Primary and community waiting lists are just as important as hospital waiting lists. The focus of Sláintecare was to move care to an earlier stage — to deliver early intervention and prevent, where possible, a person from needing hospital,” the Waterford TD said.
“The recent recruitment embargo and the cap on recruitment has had a massive impact on community healthcare and waiting lists. This was a reckless and short-sighted decision by the Minister [for Health Stephen Donnelly] and Government.”
The HSE said it periodically publishes data on community services on its website via performance and census reports, and to the media and through parliamentary queries. It said the recruitment pause was ended last month, and that each HSE health region has been given a staffing level which will allow for “further control to focus resources where there is the greatest need”.
It said it recognised the need to address waiting lists and was reforming community-based care in line with Sláintecare, which involved a significant restructuring in how services were delivered.
The HSE said a “focused programmatic approach” has been put in place to “support systemic responses to primary care waiting lists” which in turn will improve patient experience and aid understanding of the scale and drivers of demand and allow for better planning.
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