Cork TD Ken O’Flynn has said the health service is “failing patients in plain sight” after new figures revealed that more than half a million outpatient appointments are missed every year.
Data provided to Deputy O’Flynn shows between 39,000 and 47,000 appointments are missed every month across the country.
The Cork TD said that the numbers showed the system is “out of control”.
“Half a million missed appointments every year. At the same time, patients are stuck on waiting lists. That is not bad luck. That is a system out of control,” he said.
“You cannot run a health service like this. Doctors are ready. Clinics are open. Patients are waiting. Yet appointments are being lost at scale.”
He said the failure goes beyond attendance and points to a deeper breakdown in management.
“I asked for weekly data by hospital. I did not get it. What I got was broad monthly figures that hide where the real problems are.”
“That tells you something. The system is not being tracked in a way that allows it to be fixed.”
Deputy O’Flynn said he has now demanded full disclosure from the Minister for Health on the cost of missed appointments, their impact on waiting lists, and what action is being taken to stop the losses.
He said: “Every missed appointment is a slot that could have gone to someone in pain, someone waiting for a diagnosis, someone waiting for answers.”
“In any other system, this level of waste would trigger immediate action. In our health service, it is still being tolerated.”
Last year, Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said she “wasn’t pleased” by the weekend rosters of hospital consultants – and she wanted to see more consultants working at the weekends and taking appointments.