Pat Rabbitte
Question:440 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Minister for Health if he will make a statement on the delays and waiting lists at Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin, Dublin 12; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Hospital Waiting List.
The admission of a child to hospital for treatment is a matter for the consultant concerned to determine, and urgent cases are always accorded priority. In Our Lady's Hospital, Crumlin the waiting lists are constantly reviewed so that urgent cases receive treatment promptly. Should a parent feel that his or her child's condition has deteriorated, they should return to their general practitioner who would be in the best position to stress the urgency of the case directly to the consultant at the hospital.
The Deputy will be aware that the Government has allocated £20 million for a major action programme to reduce waiting times in the areas of orthopaedic surgery (hip replacement and other procedures), ophtalmology (cataract), ear, nose and throat surgery, cardiac surgery (by-pass operations), vascular surgery (varicose veins) and plastic surgery. The Government objective is to eliminate waiting lists in excess of 12 months in these specialists and to set a maximum period of six months for children awaiting ENT or eye treatment.
My Department will be in touch with the boards and the agencies in the coming weeks in relation to disbursements of waiting list funds, and I am confident that considerable progress can be made this year in alleviating the most pressing problems throughout the country.