asked the Minister for Health if he is aware that any person wishing to undergo eye surgery at the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital, Dublin, may have to wait many months for admission; and the plans he has in hand to relieve this situation.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Eye Surgery Cases.
7.
I am aware that there is a fairly long waiting period for eye operations in the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital, Dublin. I understand, however, that urgent cases are admitted without delay.
The need for improved ophthalmic facilities is kept under review in my Department and proposals from the Eye and Ear Hospital are being examined. A new ophthalmic unit came into operation in Sligo General Hospital in October last and improvements to the ophthalmic unit at Ardkeen General Hospital, Waterford, are at present under construction. The development of such facilities in other hospitals should, of course, help to relieve the pressure on the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital.
Would the Minister consider asking some of the hospitals in the city to carry out this work also, to relieve the pressure on the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital? At the moment an aged person who must have a cataract operation has to wait four months for admittance to the hospital.
I do not disagree with what the Deputy has said. I am as concerned as he is about the long waiting list but I am bound to say that with the improvement in the situation in the Sligo General Hospital and in the Ardkeen Hospital, Waterford, and the application for an extra number of beds in the Eye and Ear Hospital, the pressure will be somewhat relieved.
Would the Minister not agree that the delay in ophthalmic services is one of the most serious matters affecting community care and health services throughout the country especially with regard to teenage boys and girls and elderly people? Would his Department not give priority to speeding up eye testing and the other ophthalmic services throughout the country in addition to the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital in Dublin?
The Deputy is expanding the scope of this question, which refers to one hospital in particular.