When your GP refers you to a consultant in a public hospital, you join that hospital's outpatient waiting list. Your wait starts on the day the hospital receives the referral. A clinician sorts referrals into urgent, semi-urgent or non-urgent. People in the same category are generally seen in date order.
On 24 September 2026, 692,524 people were on public hospital outpatient waiting lists in Ireland. Of these, 124,709 (18%) had waited more than a year.
You can look up waits by hospital and specialty online, but only your hospital can tell you your own position. The National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) may offer some patients a publicly funded appointment in a private hospital. Two HSE schemes can pay towards planned care elsewhere in Europe, and one towards private care in Northern Ireland. All of them have strict rules.
Figures and rules were checked on 2 November 2026.
Public hospitals manage outpatient lists under a national protocol, published by the NTPF in 2022. These are the main rules for patients.
Your wait starts when the referral arrives. The hospital date-stamps a paper referral on the day it arrives. For electronic referrals, the date sent is used.
A clinician sets your priority. The referral should be reviewed within five working days. It is given one of three categories, each with a recommended maximum wait:
Within a category, you are generally seen in date order. Where no local timeframes apply, the oldest referrals should be booked first.
You should get reasonable notice. For semi-urgent and non-urgent patients, that means at least two weeks. Appointments should not be booked more than six weeks ahead. If you turn down an appointment offered at shorter notice, your wait is not reset at national level.
The targets are meant to tighten. The 2022 protocol said the semi-urgent and non-urgent categories would merge over five years, into one 10-week timeframe. This is in line with Sláintecare targets.
These are recommended timeframes. The national figures show that many people wait much longer.
The NTPF publishes outpatient waiting list figures every month. These are the figures for 24 September 2026:
On 29 January 2026, the total was 631,608. So the list grew by about 61,000 people between January and September 2026.
Some points help when reading these numbers:
Waits vary a great deal by specialty. For example, 27,887 adults were waiting for neurology on 24 September 2026. Of these, 4,544 (16%) had waited more than 18 months. If you are waiting for a neurology appointment for headaches, our guide to migraine, tension and cluster headaches may help you describe your symptoms.
These figures show how long people at that hospital are waiting. They do not show your own place in the queue. The NTPF says to contact your public hospital for an update on where you stand. If you have had a letter from the hospital or NTPF, it includes contact details for the hospital's scheduled care team.
Hospitals regularly check that people still need their appointment. This is called validation. The NTPF sends the letters on the hospital's behalf.
Missing appointments has consequences too. If you are not marked urgent and you miss an appointment, you are removed from the list. Cancelling without asking for a new date has the same effect. So does cancelling and rebooking twice. If you or your GP ask within four weeks, the clinician can reinstate you from your original referral date.
If your symptoms get worse, tell your GP. The NTPF says your GP can contact your consultant if they think it is appropriate. Your GP can also send an updated referral with new clinical information. If symptoms are sudden or severe, go to an emergency department or phone 112 or 999. Our guide to stroke warning signs explains one situation where you should never wait.
The NTPF is an independent public body set up in 2004. It arranges hospital treatment for public patients, and collects and checks waiting list information.
Offers of care in a private hospital
The NTPF buys capacity in private hospitals for some public patients on waiting lists. There is no application process. You may be offered an appointment if:
Offers come from your public hospital or by NTPF letter. To ask whether you could be seen this way, contact your hospital's waiting list office.
As of 2 November 2026, the NTPF can offer adults outpatient appointments from 12 waiting lists. These are cardiology, orthopaedic surgery, general surgery, ENT, ophthalmology, urology, gynaecology, vascular surgery, plastic surgery, maxillofacial surgery, gastroenterology and pain medicine. For children, it lists paediatric ENT. Neurology and psychiatry are not on the list.
If you accept, you should hear from the private hospital within about six weeks. You do not pay for the consultation or any related tests or procedures. The NTPF does not pay for medicines, travel or accommodation. The hospital offered may not be the nearest one to you. The offer letter lets you accept, stay on your local list, or come off the list.
The NTPF cannot refund care you arranged and paid for yourself.
You can choose to see a consultant privately and pay their fee. Health insurance may cover some of the cost. You can usually claim tax relief at 20% on qualifying health expenses through Revenue.
For ADHD, our article on the adult ADHD wait in Ireland compares public and private routes. Our adult ADHD assessment guide lists questions to ask any provider.
There are three HSE schemes for planned care outside the State. They have different rules, and you must use the right one.
Treatment Abroad Scheme (TAS)
TAS covers planned treatment that is not available in Ireland, or not within the time normally necessary. That time takes account of your health and the likely course of your condition. You must be ordinarily resident in Ireland.
Only a public hospital consultant in Ireland can refer you. The HSE does not accept referrals from GPs or self-referrals. Your consultant must be treating you now, and must have assessed you in the two weeks before applying. So TAS is not a route around a wait for a first outpatient appointment.
You and your consultant complete the E112 (S2) form. The HSE aims to decide within 15 to 20 working days. Do not book appointments abroad before you get a decision. If you are refused, you can appeal within three months. Private patients must first apply to their health insurer and go through its appeals process. The HSE says its TAS information was being reviewed when we checked it.
Cross Border Directive (CBD)
The CBD lets you get healthcare that is publicly available in Ireland in another EU or EEA country. You pay the provider, then claim from the HSE. You get back whichever is smaller: the cost abroad, or the cost of the same care in the Irish public system.
The HSE's examples of care available include acute hospital psychiatric services, psychology services and mental health services. You can no longer use the CBD for care in the UK, which left the EU on 31 December 2020.
Northern Ireland Planned Healthcare Scheme (NIPHS)
The NIPHS works in a similar way for private healthcare in Northern Ireland. It cannot be used for public services there. The same €194 daily outpatient cap applies.
You can raise a delay through the HSE's Your Service Your Say process, on freephone 1800 424 555 or at yoursay@hse.ie. The Patient Advocacy Service supports people making complaints about public acute hospitals, on 0818 293 003. If you are not satisfied with the response, the Ombudsman can examine complaints about public hospitals, including delays and failures to act.
Can I find out my exact place on the waiting list?
Not from the published data. The NTPF and HSE figures show how many people are waiting and for how long. For your own position, contact your public hospital.
What happens to my wait if I miss an appointment?
If you are not marked urgent, you will usually be removed from the list. You or your GP can ask for reinstatement within four weeks. If a clinician offers you a new appointment after a missed one, your wait is reset at national level from that date.
Are mental health waiting times included in these figures?
Mostly not. The figures come from public hospital outpatient clinics. Most adult mental health care is delivered by community mental health teams, which are not hospital outpatient clinics.
Can I use the Cross Border Directive with a private referral?
No. The referral must come from a GP or a consultant you see as a public patient. Having health insurance does not stop you applying.
You can read about Proco's planned assessment service on our assessments page.
This article is general information about how health services work in Ireland. It is not medical or legal advice. Scheme rules change, so check with the HSE before you act. For help with your entitlements, contact Citizens Information on 0818 07 4000.
Reviewed by: Proco Team
Last updated: November 2026