A new study in Ireland provides more details on the true waiting times patients face to see a consultant and then to get their surgery.

The figures are very up to date as they cover July 2022.

It shows that the hospitals with the longest waiting times are Letterkenny, Cork, Sligo and Limerick.

Thousands of patients are waiting up to two years or more to see a consultant and then to get their operation.

The study calculated the average weighted time – combining the wait to see a consultant and then the wait to get surgery.

For Ireland nationally, the average waiting time is 19.1 months.

For example, Letterkenny Hospital has a wait time of 11.7 months to see a consultant and then a 9.5 month wait for treatment.

That gives it an average wait time of 21.2 months.

Other hospitals that fared poorly were Mullingar with a 19.1 month wait, Cork with a 19.4 month wait, Galway with a 18.1 month wait and

the Mercy Hospital in Cork with a 18 month average wait.

Things were a bit better at the South Infirmary in Cork and Connolly Hospital Dublin which both had a 7.6 month average wait.

What the figures show is a huge disparity around the country.

But the average wait time of 19.1 months is a terrible figure.

What it all tells us is that along with the staggering number of patient on waiting lists, the average waiting time they face is also unacceptably long.