Hospital waiting lists up 25% since 1997 - FG

Waiting lists for patients seeking treatment at Dublin's public hospitals have grown by nearly 25 per cent since the Government took office in 1997, Fine Gael claimed today.

According to Department of Health and Children figures, there are 18,338 adults and children waiting for treatment at the 13 hospitals under Eastern Regional Health Authority administration. The figures relate both to in-patient and day-care services. This compares to 14,215 back in 1997.

A Fine Gael spokeswoman said party researchers compared information released by the Department of Health and Children on waiting lists in March 2003 with the results of a parliamentary question tabled in the Dáil in 1997.

They show up to 35 per cent of the 754 people on Tallaght General Hospital lists have been waiting over two years for treatment, while over 4,250 people are on the list to be seen at Beaumont Hospital. This is an increase of 84 per cent since 1997.

There are 935 children on waiting lists, including 320 who have been waiting over 24 months for in-patient or daycare services.

Other notable figures show that the James Connolly Memorial Hospital in Blanchardstown has a waiting list of 986, up by 74 per cent in six years, while St Vincent's Hospital, Elm Park and Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin both have waiting lists that are up 58 per cent over the same period.

The number awaiting appointments at the Mater Hospital is up by 27 per cent since 1997.

Fine Gael's Dublin spokesman, Senator Brian Hayes, said the results would come as a "body blow to Dubliners who have had to listen to the Minister for Health pontificating about how much he has invested in the health services".

The Department of Health says the lists are decreasing, however, with a 9.8 per cent drop (508 people) in those on daycare lists in March 2003 compared to December 2002. There are also 728 less people on in-patient waiting lists over the same period, a drop of 5.9 per cent.