Galway Bay FM Newsroom - A Galway City West Councillor has called for action from the government to address the increase in waiting lists that have happened at Galway University Hospital since the beginning of last year.
Figures published by the HSE have showed, that there was an increase of 22.5% in the number of people waiting for treatments at the Galway City Hospital since January 2020.
Labour Councillor Niall McNelis has called for more investment and resources to tackle these waiting lists and for a health service that is fit for purpose.
Councillor McNelis pointed to the increase in the number of people waiting for orthopaedics as an example which has risen by 150% in the last fifteen months.
“These latest figures show that the numbers of people waiting for treatment have increased from 52,936 to 64,872 since January 2020. While a large part of this is due to the pandemic, we need an action plan from the government to get these waiting lists down to at least the point they were at before the pandemic once it is over. Our health service needs more investment and our overstretched healthcare heroes need to be given the resources to tackle these waiting list and give people the medical treatment that they need.
“What is particularly worrying is the increase in the numbers of people waiting for orthopaedics, which have gone up from 6,801 to 8,437. And it is not just that the overall numbers waiting for medical treatments have gone up, the number of people who have been waiting for over 18 months for orthopaedics have increased from 1,122 to 2,892, an increase of 157%. People sometimes get turned off by figures, but behind each of these cases is a human story of a person that is waiting for a medical procedure that they require, so this is a matter that needs to be addressed.
“We in Labour want to draw attention to the fact that there is a clear need to invest in our health system to get these waiting lists down. If this pandemic has taught us anything, it is how much we all rely on each other and how, in particular, we all rely so much on our public servants and frontline workers. We need a health system that is fit for purpose and delivers the essential medical care that people need, when they need it, regardless of their income or wealth. We need a system where people get treated for their medical conditions based on their medical need, and not based on how much money they have.”
