THE health service in Kerry and other parts of the country has reached a state of unprecedented crisis.
In addition to dozens of patients on trolleys every day, and a chronic shortage of available beds in wards, here are seven vacancies for major clinical positions in University Hospital Kerry with specialists being sought to fill key roles in paediatrics, psychiatry, geriatric medicine, radiology and palliative medicine.
An analysis of national waiting lists has revealed that there were just short of ONE MILLION patient appointments outstanding in the first half of 2018.
Fianna Fáil has described the situation as a national scandal and speculation is mounting that it could lead to the collapse of the confidence and supply arrangement with the government and spark a general election.
“The very fact that there are almost one million people waiting for an appointment speaks for itself. Never before have we seen a situation whereby people have been failed so badly by a government, said FF TD Deputy Calleary.
The vast majority on the list is based on the National Treatment Purchase Fund monthly waiting times. In June 2018, 717,419 were on the list compiled by the fund. But that did not include the number of patients waiting for diagnostic scans with the latest available figures revealing a further 135,000 people waiting for MRIs, ultrasounds and CT scans.
There are also significant waiting lists for community care with 37,229 people waiting for either speech and language therapy or assessment in June 2018. A further 31,361 were waiting for an occupational therapy assessment in the same month.
Fianna Fail said there will be no improvement in the situation unless there is investment in capacity and as our population continues to live longer, it poses more serious issues for our health service.
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