Vol. 425 No. 7
467 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Health if he will give details of the waiting lists for paediatric ophthalmic surgery at Temple Street Hospital, Dublin 1, and the views if any, he has, on the recent statements made by hospital consultants that the waiting list for this form of surgery is at a high level.
The full range of paediatric ophthalmology services, including neonatal services, is provided at the Department of Paediatric Ophthalmology, Temple Street Hospital. The Ophthalmology Department treats almost 7,000 out-patients and 550 inpatients per annum.
There were 170 patients awaiting admission for ophthalmic surgery in the hospital, as of 31 December 1992.
I will consider as sympathetically as possible the recommendations for improvements made in the 1992 annual report of the Department of Paediatric Ophthalmology, in the context of the resources available to me in 1993.
As the Deputy will be aware, £20 million will be provided in 1993 for a major action programme to reduce hospital in-patient waiting lists in a number of specialities. Ophthalmology will be a priority in the allocation of funds in this major action programme and I will be announcing my decisions in this matter in the coming weeks.
