Almost 10 thousand patients waiting over a year for appointments at UHG and Portiuncula Hospital

Galway Bay fm newsroom – Almost 50 thousand patients are waiting for inpatient and outpatient appointments at UHG and Portiuncula – with almost 10 thousand of those waiting more than 12 months.
Of the 34 thousand patients waiting for outpatient appointments at UHG, almost 6,500 are waiting over a year.
Meanwhile, a further 11 thousand patients are waiting for inpatient appointments at the hospital – almost 3,300 are waiting over a year.
Nationally, the Minister for Health says the number of patients on waiting lists for the longest period has begun to decline.
Simon Harris says the latest figures for the month of November show the number of people waiting for inpatient or daycase procedures for between 15 and 18 month has declined by 364.
The news comes as GPs report an increase in waiting times at their clinics.