Varadkar denies attempt to hide waiting list figures
The Minister for Health denies there has been any attempt to conceal information about waiting times for hospital diagnostics, after media reports this weekend.
In a statement this afternoon, Leo Varadkar said he has no interest in making things look better or worse than they are, and the HSE plans to publish updated information on diagnostics again in the future.
But he said it is important the information is accurate and comparable across hospitals, as currently it is not.
Fianna Fáil's health spokesperson, Billy Kelleher, said he received figures from the HSE on waiting lists for MRI scans, and claimed tens of thousands of diagnostic cases on waiting lists are not included in official figures.
But the Minister said it is also important to bear in mind that many people waiting for a scan are also waiting for a hospital appointment or surgical procedure and that rather than under-estimating the number of people waiting, it's often the case that the same people are often counted several times.
"“A row over statistics misses the point, in my view. We all agree that waiting times for public patients are unacceptable. I am working with the HSE on plans for next year for a special focus on very long-waiters," the Minister said.
“Sadly, long waiting times for public patients have been a feature of our health service since the 1980s. In fact when Fianna Fáil was in office, many waiting times were much worse and statistics were not even collected, never mind published.”
Sinn Féin's Health spokesperson, Caoimhghin Ó Caoláin, said: “that the HSE has been withholding the facts regarding the reality of waiting times for outpatient services, that could inform life or death decisions, is intolerable.
“The HSE Director General needs to immediately come clean on these revelations.”
