TUH made significant progress on long-term waiting lists, annual report shows
The opening of a new day surgery centre contributed to an 82 per cent reduction in the number of patients waiting more than a year for a daycase procedure at Tallaght University Hospital last year.
The figure was revealed at the launch this week of TUH’s annual report. It found that the number of patients waiting more than 12 months for a daycase surgery fell from 262 in January 2022 to 48 in December.
The significant reduction in waiting times was attributed to the opening, in late 2020, of the Reeves Day Surgery Centre, located across the road from the main campus. The centre consists of four theatres and 25 recovery beds and is now where the majority of TUH day surgeries take place.
“Looking back on 2022, we can see that despite the ongoing challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, it has been one of tremendous growth for us as at the hospital,” TUH CEO Lucy Nugent said.
“Twelve brand new state-of-the-art ICU beds were opened while the Reeves Day Surgery Centre has enabled us to dramatically reduce waiting times. This TUH day surgery model has proven so successful the Government have announced plans to replicate it, at other hospitals around the country.”
The report also highlighted the opening of a new Intensive Care wing of the hospital in late August. The 1,750 m2 expanded space is on the first floor of the Hospital and is made up of 12 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds, each of which is in a single room. TUH had just nine ICU beds before this new wing opened.
A reduction was also seen in the 12-month waiting list for inpatient procedures (35 per cent), from 334 patients at the start of the year to 225 by December 2022.