Between 39,000 and 47,000 hospital outpatient appointments are being missed every month, according to newly released figures.
The details were disclosed by the HSE in response to a parliamentary question submitted by Independent Ireland TD Ken O’Flynn, reports RTE.
Mr O’Flynn said the statistics showed that more than half a million outpatient appointments are missed annually and claimed the health service was “failing patients in plain sight”.
“Half a million missed appointments every year. At the same time, patients are stuck on waiting lists. That is not bad luck. That is a system out of control”, Mr O’Flynn said, reports RTE.
“You cannot run a health service like this. Doctors are ready. Clinics are open. Patients are waiting. Yet appointments are being lost at scale,” he added.
He said the issue extends beyond attendance problems and reflects a wider failure in management within the health system, reports RTE.
“I asked for weekly data by hospital. I did not get it. What I got was broad monthly figures that hide where the real problems are.
“That tells you something. The system is not being tracked in a way that allows it to be fixed,” he added, reports RTE.
Mr O’Flynn has now sought additional information from the Minister for Health regarding the financial cost of missed appointments, their effect on waiting lists, and what measures are being introduced to reduce the losses.
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