Mitchell urges cross-party support for motion on health care waiting lists

Sinn Féin TD for Dublin Bay North Denise Mitchell has urged all local TDs to back the party’s motion in the Dáil today that seeks to make the health service “a better place to work” and tackle “dangerously” long wait times for appointments and procedures.

Deputy Mitchell is seeking cross party support for the motion, which will be debated in the Dáil this evening, amid long waiting times across Dublin Bay North.

There are 1.34 million people on some form of health waiting list across hospitals, diagnostics, and primary and community services across the state, including 31,000 in Beaumont Hospital.

Deputy Mitchell criticised the Minister for Health’s Waiting List Action Plan as a short-term wish list that will not address the fundamental problems causing long waiting lists.

She called on the Government to give health graduates a job guarantee and that major workforce deficits need to be addressed as a matter of urgency, including targeted increases in training places.

“Health waiting lists have spiraled out of control under government after government,” she said.

“Patients, workers, and their families bear the costs for dangerously long hospital waiting lists.

“There are now 1.34 million people on waiting lists for community, hospital, and diagnostic services.

“In Dublin Bay North there are 31,000 people on Beaumont’s hospital waiting lists alone.

“This is totally unacceptable and ordinary people are paying the price for this government’s failure on health.

Deputy Mitchell says that “no waiting list plan” is credible without a “workforce strategy  which deals with two-tier pay, excessive hours, unsafe staffing levels, and outstanding agreements which have not been implemented.

“We need to restore trust with the health service workforce and show the new generation of graduates we want to keep them here.

“I am urging all TDs to back our motion in the Dáil to ensure that these much-needed changes can be delivered and end the scandal of long health waiting lists.”