An increase in hospital emergency department attendances in the first three months of this year has led to an upsurge in waiting lists, according to the HSE.  

irishhealth.com revealed last week that there was a major upsurge in both treatment and outpatient waiting lists between the end of December last and the end of January this year.

At the end of December, only four adult patients were waiting over nine months for inpatient/day case hospital treatment, but the numbers waiting over eight months for treatment at the end of January was 1,764.

In addition, the number of patients waiting over a year for an outpatient appointment nearly doubled between  December and January, from 4,937 to 9,604.            

The HSE told irishhealth.com that there has recently been a 3% increase in hospital ED attendances and a 3% increase in admissions through EDs.

As a result of this increased activity, at times hospitals need to reduce day treatment services in order to accommodate the increasing demands through the EDs, which leads to a a reduction in elective (planned) treatments , the spokesperson said.   

The HSE said this increase in ED activity has continued throughout the first quarter of 2014.

However, the increase in ED activity and its subsequent affect on the ability to treat patients waiting for treatment does not explain the recent increase in outpatient waiting lists.

Health Minister James Reilly earlier this year stressed that outpatient waiting lists had dropped by 95% in nine months.

The numbers waiting over a year for an outpatient visit were cut by over 50,000 between last November and December, but the numbers have since started to spiral again.

The major reduction in outpatient lists towards the end of last year was partly due to work being outsourced from public to private hospitals.