The Louth County Hospital in Dundalk
Hundreds of surgical operations and specialist appointments are set to be outsourced to private health providers in a bid to cut down on waiting lists with the Louth County Hospital in Dundalk amongst the locations affected.
That’s according to a report in today’s Irish Independent, which says that Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, as well as Beaumont and Connolly Hospitals in Dublin, have issued a tender for the work.
The paper also claims that hospitals which are part of the Royal College of Surgeons Hospital Group, including Cavan, the Rotunda, the Louth and Monaghan are “likely to be involved in the outsourcing.”
Health Minister Leo Varadkar said the plan, which could see some patients sent abroad for treatment, would be expensive but was required to cut waiting lists down to a maximum of 18 months.
There are currently 564 patients awaiting surgery in the Louth County Hospital and a further 2,062 waiting for an outpatient appointment.
Meanwhile, in the Lourdes Hospital there are 1,242 waiting on surgery, with 11,386 waiting for an outpatient appointment.
Nationally there are more than 412,000 people on waiting lists, with 10,000 of them waiting more than a year.
The tenders will see 500 endoscopies, and 200 colonoscopies outsourced along with 50 patients needing ear, nose and throat surgery. Another 300 are to be offered to see a dermatologist for skin conditions privately.
