Patients are waiting up to seven-and-a-half years to see a consultant in a hospital outpatient clinic.

Figures releas­ed to the Sunday Tribune show by the end of August 2008, some patients had been on a waiting list at Kerry General Hospital since February 2001. These patients were waiting to see a rheumatology consultant. At the same hospital, some patients had been waiting over four years for an appointment with an ear, nose and throat specialist.

In July this year, five patients were on a waiting list for as long as four years at South Tipperary General Hospital to be seen by an orthopaedic consultant. At the Midlands Regional Hospital in Mullingar two months ago, an unspecified number of patients were on a waiting list for a dermatology appointment for five years.

The figures were obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. Twelve of the country's 24 hospitals provided the requested information. The data provided did not reflect the overall number of patients on outpatient waiting lists around the country but it is believed to be in the region of 200,000. The time spent on an outpatient waiting list refers to the length of time a patient has to wait to be seen by a hospital consultant, once referred by their GP.

Just one Dublin hospital, Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown, supplied data. Its longest waiting time is three years or more for an outpatient dermatology appointment. The situation is worse at Waterford Regional Hospital, with patients waiting up to four years to see a dermatology consultant. At Portiuncula Hospital, Ballinasloe, Galway, an outpatient dermatology appointment was again the longest waiting list, with eight patients waiting at least four years.

Fine Gael health spokes­man, Dr James Reilly, said the situation was "a disgrace and completely unacceptable. Some of these people could well be dead by the time they get their appointments. The HSE needs to move to sort out this administrative mess immediately." He added that many patients would have been forced to switch to private healthcare in order to have their medical problems addressed. "This information directly contradicts Prof Brendan Drumm's assertion earlier this week that waiting times at hospitals are down," he said.

A spokeswoman from Patient Focus called for an immediate investigation into these lengthy waiting lists. "There is no excuse for anyone being on a waiting list for seven years. A lot of rheumatology patients would be elderly, so asking them to wait seven years is a farce. I suspect a lot of people would have gone private," she said. In relation to a female patient waiting almost 18 months for a gynaecological appointment at Cork University maternity hospital, the Patient Focus spokeswoman added: "A 76-week wait for a gynaecological appointment is an absolute comedy. Do they not understand a pregnancy lasts nine months?"

The HSE said it had "prioritised this issue" of outpatient waiting lists and it was working on "a number of different components to this service improvement programme." The HSE is currently developing outpatient "performance targets" relating to issues such as patient access times, among others.