Currently there are 411 people on the waiting list in the South/South-West Health Group, which covers Cork and Kerry, with 172 people on the waiting list for less than three months.
The figure of 411 is down from 509 in 2018 and 710 in 2017, a 42% decrease in two years which Cllr. O’Shea has welcomed.
“It is positive news that the waiting list today is 19% smaller than it was last year and 42% smaller than it was two years ago, which is a significant reduction.
“I have spoken to the South/South-West Health Group about the possibility of having theatre space allocated for cataract operations in Mallow General Hospital and Kerry University Hospital, as well as the existing space in the South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital.
“I will continue to press for more resources to be provided to hospitals such as Mallow and Kerry, so as to enable cataract operations to be performed here, which would yet further speed up the waiting times that patients experience,” Cllr. O’Shea said.
