The opposition party’s spokesman for health, Billy Kelleher, has claimed today that waiting lists have jumped by as much as 500% during Leo Varadkar’s first year in office as Health Minister.
According to figures made available by Fianna Fail, there has been a 480% surge in long-term inpatient waiting lists in the 12 months since Minister Varadkar took over.
Mr. Kelleher said: “By any benchmark this is an extraordinary decline in health service provision. It clearly indicates that Minister Varadkar has failed to deliver the resources necessary to provide timely hospital care to those who most need it.
“Leo Varadkar has been in charge of the health service for more than a year now. But all he has done on waiting lists is abandon his predecessor’s targets and diminish expectations. Patients and the health service deserve so much better.”