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File photo People waiting in a hospital lobby via Shutterstock
Waiting Lists
105 people every day aren’t turning up for appointments at Galway hospitals
The HSE estimates that it cost more than €3 million to prepare for appointments for people who never showed up.
MORE THAN 38,000 people did not show up for appointments at the Galway and Roscommon Hospital Group last year, the HSE has revealed.
An estimated €3,067,280 was wasted in lost time preparing for people who never turned up – which works out at 105 people every day – and the current waiting list could have been massively shortened if the hospitals had been told in advance, the head of the hospital group said today.
Tony Canavan, the Chief Operating Officer, said it is a “significant problem” for the hospitals in the group.
“In total, 38,341 patients did not go to their appointments or tell us in advance; when you consider that our current waiting lists stands at 36,067, this means that we could have shortened our waiting list and reduced the waiting time for other patients,” he said.
Canavan said that the hospitals are trying to “radically reduce the length of time that patients wait for an outpatient appointment.”
The hospital group has urged patients to get in touch if they were unable to attend so that the appointment can be rescheduled and the time can be offered to another patient. A dedicated call centre has been set up for outpatient appointments.
The Galway and Roscommon Hospital Group covers Galway University Hospital, Merlin Park Hospital, Portiuncula Hospital, Ballinasloe and Roscommon General Hospital.
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