Over 120 children face long wait for hospital treatment in Tullamore

Newly-published figures from the HSE have shown that more children are on a waiting list for treatment at the Midland Regional Hospital in Tullamore than anywhere else in the country apart from Dublin. In total, 125 children have been waiting between six months and two years for inpatient and daycare treatments at Tullamore hospital. These children are classified as 'long waiters' by the HSE and face an increased risk of their condition deteriorating. A further 225 children were waiting for between three and six months for procedures to be carried out. In total, 1,830 children across the country have been awaiting hospital treatment for six months or more according to the HSE, which outlined the position as it was in August of this year. The lengthiest waiting lists were found at the Temple Street and Crumlin children's hospitals in Dublin. However, the 125 children waiting for six months or more in Tullamore was the third highest total in the country, followed by the 66 children awaiting treatment at University College Hospital in Galway. The August report on Tullamore hospital was the most recent issued by the HSE's performance information system, HealthStat. It gave the hospital a positive assessment in 9 of the 18 categories in which its performance was rated. The report revealed that the hospital was €1.4m over budget after the first eight months of the year - spending €62.7m instead of the budgeted sum of €61.3m. The overspend had been reduced since July, when the hospital was €2.2m over budget. The loss of staff hours in Tullamore to absenteeism continued to be a problem, according to the report. In total the hospital lost more than 5% of staff hours to absenteeism in August. The HSE aims to lose no more than 3.5% of its staff hours to absenteeism.