Dr. Conall Dennedy:

We base many of our statistics on what we see on the NTPF waiting lists. I would like to point to an inaccuracy I have seen in the figures quoted by the NTPF for the waiting list for endocrinology in Galway, where I work as an endocrinologist. According to the NTPF figures, there are 144 patients waiting for an outpatient appointment at our centre for diabetes and endocrinology. The longest waiting time quoted on the site is up to 12 months. As I said, I work in Galway University Hospital. As I triage the general endocrinology waiting list, I am familiar with the real figures. There are 1,543 patients waiting for an outpatient appointment to see an endocrinologist in Galway. Some 890 patients have been waiting for more than six months to see an endocrinologist in Galway, of whom 50 have been waiting for more than three years. Based on the endocrinology waiting list in Galway University Hospital alone, the official figures on the NTPF's website represent a tenfold underestimate of the actual numbers of patients who are waiting. I can see from the figures in front of me that the longest waiting time has been underestimated by approximately two years and four months. I will explain what this means in a patient context. I suspect that this also applies to paediatrics. I have seen a significantly higher number of paediatric endocrinology referrals to the adult endocrinology clinic in Galway. By the time a child over the age of 13 years has waited the three to four years required to see a specialist paediatric endocrinologist, he or she will be classified as an adult. This denies children access to endocrine healthcare at a vital stage in their development - I emphasise that endocrinology is vital to the development of children - and to the transitional care model which represents best international care.