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Donegal outpatients wait over a year 31.10.14

SOME 2,441 Donegal people were waiting more than a year for an outpatient appointment at Letterkenny General Hospital in August, figures show.
That was an increase of over 100 on July’s figures and a jump of almost 1,500 in the past six months. Letterkenny now has the longest hospital outpatient waiting times outside of Dublin.
The figures compiled by Fianna Fáil, reveal the Government's "lax attitude" to the waiting lists, said Inishowen T.D., Charlie McConalogue.
"(Health Minister) Leo Varadkar has all but conceded that waiting lists will get worse before they get better. What will that mean for people in Donegal? Thousands are already waiting more than 12 months to be seen. Are they now expected to wait for years rather than months?" asked Deputy McConalogue.
Letterkenny Hospital.
He said there had been a 152.4% jump in the number of people waiting for an outpatient appointment at Letterkenny in the past six months.
"That’s an increase of 1,474 people in a 26-week timeframe. Outside of the main city hospitals, Letterkenny has the largest waiting list in the country for outpatient appointments."
“We’re still waiting to see the (HSE Service Plan) for 2015, which is due to be published next month. However, if the Minister’s comments are a sign of things to come, I am extremely concerned about the standard of healthcare that people in the North West can expect," he added.
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