Over 900,000 people on some form of waiting list
People Before Profit TD Gino Kenny has condemned the government for their chronic mishandling of the health service which has led to 5,200 people waiting more than five years for hospital treatment and over 900,000 people languishing on some form of waiting list.
The TD said that it was now time for the government to bring in emergency measures to absorb private healthcare into the public system; to offer nurses and front line staff decent wages and conditions; and commence a recruitment campaign of front line staff.
He said: “The situation in our health service where 5,200 people are waiting over five years for hospital treatment, along with the fact that over 900,000 people are on some form of waiting lists is a disgrace and is a shocking indictment of this government’s handling of the health service. Patients and health service staff are being failed by this government.
“The government needs to address this extreme situation by taking radical measures. We need to absorb and nationalise private hospitals and bring their resources into the public system. We need to offer nurses and front-line staff decent pay that at least keeps up with the cost of living. And we need to commence a massive recruitment and retention campaign so we can bring staffing numbers up to safe levels.”