A new out-patient department has opened at Dublin's Mater hospital, which will deal with over 220,000 patients a year.
An online check-in system is to be introduced at the facility which will allow patients to select a time slot for their clinic, without having to wait sometimes for hours to be seen.
Division of Surgery Chairman Ciaran McDonnell said the new facility will increase capacity and will help reduce waiting lists, as well as offering patients a greatly improved physical environment.
Figures released late last week show that there are over 3,500 patients waiting to be seen at the hospital's out-patient department since January last year.
The hospital's new Emergency Department is due to open at the end of September.
Figures today from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation show there were 17 patients waiting in the hospital's existing emergency department.
