CORK - Almost 85,000 people were waiting for treatment across Cork's six hospitals in June, new figures from the National Treatment Purchase Fund have revealed.
The total of 84,041 marks only a marginal decrease from 84,063 in May, with the crisis showing little sign of easing.
Breakdown by Hospital - Outpatient Waits:
South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital (SIVUH) 34,537
Cork University Hospital (CUH) 26,038
Mercy University Hospital 6,141
Mallow General Hospital 3,771
Cork University Maternity Hospital (CUMH) 3,188
Bantry General Hospital 1,166
Breakdown by Hospital - Inpatient Waits:
SIVUH 4,907
CUH 2,072
Mercy University Hospital 1,123
CUMH 692
Mallow General Hospital 316
Bantry General Hospital 90
The Total Numbers:
• 50,693 waiting less than six months
• 19,592 waiting six to 12 months
• 7,721 waiting 12 to 18 months
• 6,035 waiting over 18 months
The number of people waiting over a year dropped slightly from 13,900 to 13,756.
Children Affected:
More than 9,000 children are on the lists — 8,414 under-18s waiting for outpatient treatment and 674 for inpatient procedures.
Department of Health Response:
A spokesperson welcomed the reduction in longest waits but acknowledged the system is under severe pressure: "Notwithstanding these longer-term improvements, waiting lists more recently have been impacted by the ongoing trend of higher demand and increased referrals, which has offset the significantly increased levels of activity that are being delivered in acute hospitals. The department will continue to work to improve waiting list performance through ongoing engagement with the HSE and the NTPF."