Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 2 Mar 1993

Vol. 427 No. 2

Adjournment Debate. - Tralee (Kerry) Hospital Surgical Services.

Mr. Deenihan

A Cheann Comhairle, I thank you for allowing me to raise this very important local issue on the Adjournment. I am glad the Minister for Health is present as this is the first opportunity I have had to congratulate him on his appointment and wish him well in his new portfolio.

As a public representative for the north Kerry area it has recently come to my attention that the waiting list for the surgical department of Tralee General Hospital is now between 12 and 18 months long. I believe this is the longest waiting list in the country. It is totally unacceptable and leaves a lot to be desired. The waiting list in Limerick Regional Hospital is between two and three months.

It might be acceptable to have an 18 month waiting list for some routine conditions but such a waiting period constitutes a danger to patients with relatively minor symptoms associated with underlying serious diseases, such as cancer. While the two resident surgeons at the hospital, Mr. McCormack and Mr. Spillane, are extremely good about seeing patients with known serious disease, at short notice, the fact that serious disease which is less obvious can progress for up to 15 months before appropriate attention and treatment is received is totally unacceptable. I would like to pay personal tribute tonight to both Mr. McCormack and Mr. Spillane. They are extremely hardworking people who get through huge volumes of work both at outpatient and inpatient levels. The out-patient attendance and operation rates are well above the national average. Despite this, the waiting list continues to grow. I am calling on the Minister to ensure that the necessary resources are provided to enable the Southern Health Board to appoint a third surgeon at Tralee General Hospital.

The Southern Health Board decided at its meeting in December 1991 that a third surgeon, with a special interest in vascular surgery, should be appointed to Tralee General Hospital. However, this appointment has to take its place in the queue of priorities for the hospital. Unless the appointment is placed on top of the priority list and the surgical resources and back-up staff, including anaesthetists, nurses, theatre beds and so on are made available, the waiting lists will get longer and waiting times will increase.

I accept that the in-patient waiting time at Tralee General Hospital is in the region of three weeks. A recent initiative from the Government concentrated on reducing the waiting time from the date a patient sees a consultant in an out-patient clinic to the date he is admitted to hospital. However, the Government has not addressed the delay in getting an out-patient appointment following a referral from a general practitioner. As the Minister knows, it may take up to 18 months, as in the case of Tralee, from the time a general practitioner writes to a consultant to the time the person gets an appointment. In the meantime, the person could have lost contact with his or her general practitioner and a minor ailment could turn into a tumour or other such serious illness.

It is time the Department of Health focused on out-patient waiting times, particularly waiting times at Tralee General Hospital. I understand that Comhairle na nOspidéal will visit the hospital shortly and no doubt they will confirm the need for a third surgeon. In view of the facts I put before the Minister tonight and the urgency of this case I appeal to him to give the matter serious attention.

Minister for Health (Mr. Howlin)

I thank Deputy Deenihan for raising, and giving me the opportunity to respond to this matter and also for his kind comments on my appointment as Minister for Health. I greatly appreciate it.

In relation to Tralee General Hospital, there is a three to five week waiting time for patients awaiting admission to the hospital for surgery. The waiting list of 1,100 referred by the Deputy relates to out-patient appointments and, of course, not all of these patients will require admission as in-patients to the hospital. Last year, laparoscopy equipment was purchased by the hospital from voluntary funds and its use is now established. This equipment will enable the surgeons to carry out more procedures on a day basis and thus relieve some of the pressure on the out-patient waiting list.

In May 1992, my Department issued financial clearance to the Southern Health Board to proceed with arrangements for the appointment of an ENT consultant at Tralee General Hospital. Comhairle na nOspidéal subsequently approved the post and the Southern Health Board is proceeding with arrangements to fill the post. The filling of this post was the Southern Health Board's top priority in respect of new consultant posts at Tralee General Hospital. I understand that interviews for this post have recently taken place.

On the question of the appointment of a third general surgeon, I would like to let the House know that Comhairle na nOspidéal has established a committee to undertake a comprehensive review of the consultant manpower requirements of the Southern Health Board area. The question of the appointment of additional surgeons will be addressed by the comhairle in its review. It will be a matter for the Southern Health Board, in the first instance, to determine its priority requirements for additional consultants in the context of the comhairle review and the available resources.

In relation to the in-patient waiting lists generally, I wish to confirm to the House that the Government have allocated £20 million for a major action programme to reduce waiting times for patients awaiting certain surgical procedures. My Department will be discussing this programme with the Southern Health Board in the coming weeks and I can assure the Deputy that, in allocating these funds, I will consider the position of the Southern Health Board and indeed, Tralee General Hospital, as sympathetically as possible.