Vol. 415 No. 7
114 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Kildare will gain admission to Beaumont Hospital for surgery which was deemed necessary one year ago and which has been twice postponed by the hospital authorities with obvious disappointment and stress to the patient; if it is recognised that the delays in gaining access to surgery is likely to exacerbate the situation; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I do not consider it appropriate for me to comment on the clinical details of an individual patient. The decision with regard to when a patient will have his/her operation performed is a matter for the consultant concerned. However, I have been informed by Beaumont Hospital that the medical condition of the patient in question is of a non-urgent nature. I understand that she was placed on a waiting list in July 1991 and that her case was reviewed at an out-patient clinic on 22 November 1991. I have been advised by the hospital authorities that they have no record of this patient being given an admission date which was subsequently cancelled. It is understood that she will be admitted for treatment shortly.
