(Cavan Monaghan) asked the Minister for Health if he is aware that the surgeon appointed to Cavan Surgical Hospital did not take up duty on 1 July 1979 as arranged, that the hospital remains without surgical services, that this constitutes a serious emergency in the area and if he will arrange with the North Eastern Health Board to have surgical services restored to the hospital as a matter of urgency.
Written Answers. - Cavan Hospital Surgeon.
95.
The surgeon recommended by the Local Appointments Commission to a post in this hospital, and who was to take up the appointment on 1 July, has not yet done so. The health board are pressing for an early decision.
I appreciate the difficulties caused by the absence of a surgeon in Cavan Surgical Hospital. The health board are trying to resolve the situation, but have been unable to obtain a locum surgeon. In the meantime, as I explained in response to parliamentary questions on 30 May 1979—Volume 314, columns 1744 to 1746—patients in the Cavan area who need surgical treatment are being referred to hospitals in Monaghan, Navan, Drogheda and Dublin.