asked the Minister for Health the average time which elapses before a child who is referred to the Ear-Nose-Throat clinic in Temple Street Hospital, Dublin, can obtain an appointment.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Dublin ENT Clinic.
9.
I am informed that there is at present an average waiting period of about four months for an appointment at the ENT clinics held at this hospital. Urgent cases are seen without delay.
Is the Minister satisfied with an average waiting period of four months in such cases?
Certainly I am not and I do not think any Minister would be satisfied. It appears in respect of the Temple Street Hospital that the waiting list is somewhat longer than in respect of two similar institutions, one at Harcourt Street and one at Crumlin. In those cases the waiting period is less and it is also less in respect of operations. I have asked my Department to see if arrangements might be made whereby there might be a better spread of these young children who must have recourse to ENT consultants. I hope there will be some improvement in the situation. I am not satisfied with this and with many other aspects of the treatment of children for various illnesses.
I appreciate that the Minister is asking his Department to see if something can be done by way of switching part of a queue from one hospital to another. It may help and it is a move in the right direction.
It will be a little difficult because there appears to be a larger child population in the Deputy's constituency than in the other areas, although I am not blaming the Deputy for that.
I am not responsible. While I appreciate what the Minister has said, will he state if he has any other plans that might be implemented in the near future to reduce the overall waiting period in cases of this kind?
I have not any specific plans but it is my endeavour to reduce the waiting period. There has not been any deterioration in 1976; the waiting list has been approximately the same for the last four or five years. It is a very bad situation which I hope to improve, but that is as much as I can tell the Deputy.
In relation to this particular hospital has not the situation deteriorated?
My information is that the position there is about the same as it was last year and in previous years but there is a difference in the waiting periods in each of the three hospitals I have mentioned. There is a particularly long waiting list so far as operations are concerned in Temple Street hospital.