A Kerry county councillor says he is concerned that upcoming changes will bring the endoscopy waiting list to a “national cliff edge”.
At the recent South West Regional Health Forum, councillor Mikey Sheehy, asked how the HSE (Health Service Executive) plans to tackle endoscopy waiting times when insourcing finishes this month.
He said delayed endoscopies can have a significant impact on patient outcomes and treatment.
Cllr Sheehy claimed that waiting lists are a major concern for patients in the South West and nationally.
At of April, 883 people were waiting for endoscopy at UHK.
The HSE insourcing model means public hospitals hire outside companies to provide medical services after normal working hours using HSE hospital buildings and equipment.
Third-party insourcing was introduced to reduce waiting lists, but a HSE review last summer recommended ending it because of concerns about oversight, misuse of public funds, fraud, and falling public confidence.
HSE manager, Priscilla Lynch, told Cllr Sheehy that the current endoscopy insourcing arrangement will end this month.
A coordinated regional plan will then be introduced to reduce endoscopy waiting lists across the HSE South West area (Kerry and Cork).
A Regional Endoscopy Oversight Group (REOG) was established in December 2025 to oversee regional waiting-list pooling and allocating patients to different sites depending on capacity.
Cllr Sheehy was told that Bantry General Hospital now has a full endoscopy suite with two specialised rooms, and will be used to relieve endoscopy waiting lists.
Meanwhile, funding has been approved to offer more endoscopy services at University Hospital Kerry (UHK) by extending weekday hours and offering Saturday appointments.
These extended hours will depend on recruitment, particularly of consultant gastroenterologists.
When querying what contingency plans are in place if recruitment challenges continue, Cllr Sheehy was told that although the HSE is actively recruiting, alternatives such as outsourcing may be required
