Waiting Times for Publicly Funded Hospital Treatment: How does Ireland Measure Up?

The way in which Ireland currently reports waiting times for publicly funded elective hospital treatment limits international comparability and does not give a complete picture of the length of time patients are waiting for services. This analysis uses existing administrative data in a new way to estimate waiting times from consultant referral-to-treatment for selected elective procedures. Results show that by using the more widely reported metric, Ireland’s waiting times are longer than previously reported and compare less favourably with other OECD countries.