Staffing levels need to be urgently addressed in Sligo and Letterkenny University Hospitals says a Donegal Councillor as the number of people awaiting an outpatient appointment continues to rise in both hospitals.
As of the end of August, there was a total of 37,329 patients waiting in both Hospitals; 18,554 in Sligo and 18,775 in Letterkenny according to figures release by the National Treatment Purchase Fund.
That’s an increase of 104 in the space of 4 weeks with no sign of the backlog being addressed as figures from August 2019 show there were almost 3,000 fewer patients waiting for an appointment.
Of the current figure, just under 17,000 people are waiting 12 months or more with 12,000 of these waiting a year and a half or more.
Independent Donegal Councillor and member of the Regional health Forum West, Tom Connaghan says the number of people waiting for an appointment appears to be getting worse.
