Over 400 patients on Roscommon University Hospital’s ENT waiting lists 

There are currently 404 patients on Roscommon University Hospital’s ear, nose, and throat waiting list, a HSE West Regional Health Forum was told last week.

The figures shows that there are 110 children on the list, 18 of whom are waiting more than 12 months, with five waiting more than 15 months or more. In terms of the adults, While 23 of these are waiting 15 months or more, 18 of these adults have already been outsourced to private hospitals for treatment.

The HSE said it is planning to outsource a further 20–30 patients before the end of the year. In some cases, patients may decline an offer of outsourcing, in which case they remain on the hospital waiting list.

Cllr Sean Moylan, who sought the information, asked what the local HSE was doing to improve the situation.

Cllr Moylan noted that a couple of specific cases had been brought to his attention, one of which involved a person waiting for upwards of three and a half years.

Integrated health area manager, Galway Roscommon, Ann Cosgrove asked for the details of the case and said she would revert to Cllr Moylan.

“The service in Roscommon is delivered from Galway, it’s a visiting service so it’s not as frequent as if it were based in Roscommon,” she said.

The HSE said it has also held ‘initiative clinics’ to help clear the backlog, with another scheduled for December 13th. Each initiative clinic allows the consultant and registrar to see approximately 50 patients.

“As part of an initiative clinic, we have an audiologist using the Primary Care Audiology Department, where approximately 20 patients are assessed for audiology and subsequently reviewed by the consultant on the same day,” the HSE said. “We intend to continue running additional initiative clinics in the New Year. These clinics play a vital role in reducing the waiting list, as they provide additional capacity to see patients who might otherwise experience delays.” It added that the consultant’s core HSE clinic time is primarily allocated to urgent and complex cases, “including potential cancer patients, ensuring that those with the greatest clinical need are prioritised appropriately”.