Tipperary councillors appeal for surging diagnostic scan waiting lists to be tackled
Action Plan needed to resolve issue
Tipperary Sinn Fein Cllrs David Dunne and Annemarie Ryan have called on the Government to implement a National Action plan to address growing wait lists for diagnostic scans including over 57,000 in the Dublin and Southeast HSE Region of which South Tipperary is aligned.
Cllr Ryan stated 'recent Department of Health figures released to Sinn Fein Health Spokesperson, David Cullinane TD, show that there are 299,736 people across the Ireland waiting for diagnostic scans - including CT, MRI, ultrasound, and vascular ultrasound.
Cllr David Dunne added 'More than 71,000 people have been waiting for over a year for a diagnostic scan with 42,000 waiting longer than 18 months. These are more than just numbers, scans help diagnose whether a health problem exists, and they are often the key step that allows care to move to the next stage of their treatment"
Cllr Annemarie Ryan highlighted “We need a national plan to increase diagnostic capacity right across the health service. We also need legislative change to give patients new rights to scans and other appointments within legal timeframes.
Cllr David Dunne stated "we need to look at rolling out diagnostic hubs similar to the surgical hubs that were rolled out. The HSE Enhanced Community Care Scheme aims to bring services closer to the patients home, with GP led access to diagnostic services, this approach is what needs to be built upon throughout the Country"
Cllr Ryan concluded 'Patients deserve better - they deserve a health system that sees them quickly, diagnoses them early, and treats them on time. A National Action Plan to address these huge waiting lists would be the first step in reducing them'