Vol. 433 No. 5
140 Mr. J. Higgins asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Mayo will be called for a hip replacement operation in view of the strong medical evidence from her doctor regarding the urgent need for the surgery.
The patient concerned was seen in Mayo General Hospital, Castlebar on 18 February 1993 and her case is due to be reviewed by the consultant orthopaedic surgeon on 5 August next. As the Deputy will appreciate, the scheduling of appointments and admissions is a matter for the consultant concerned and urgent cases are always accorded priority. Should the patient feel concerned about her condition she should return to her general practitioner who is in the best position to emphasise the urgency of her case directly to the consultant.
141 Mr. J. Higgins asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Galway, who is in need of a hip replacement operation, will be called for surgery.
The patient concerned is on the in-patient waiting list for orthopaedic treatment at Merlin Park Hospital but it is not possible to give an admission date at this stage. As the Deputy will appreciate, the scheduling of admissions is a matter for the consultant concerned and urgent cases are always accorded priority. Should the patient feel concerned about her condition, she should return to her general practitioner who is in the best position to emphasise the urgency of her case directly to the consultant.
The Deputy will be aware of the £20 million major action programme which I recently launched in relation to hospital in-patient waiting lists which was specifically targeted at those areas of hospital treatment where long waiting times are causing the greatest hardship. The Western Health Board has been allocated £2,192,600 from the waiting list fund. This will enable the board to carry out an additional 1,884 procedures this year of which 160 will be orthopaedic. This should impact significantly on the average waiting times in these areas.
142 Mr. J. Higgins asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Mayo will be called for a hip replacement operation in view of the strong medical evidence from his doctor regarding the urgent need for the surgery.
The patient concerned is on the out-patient waiting list for assessment at Mayo Gener eral Hospital, Castlebar but it is not possible for the hospital to give an appointment date at this stage. As the Deputy will appreciate, the scheduling of appointments is a matter for the consultant concerned and urgent cases are always accorded priority. Should the patient feel concerned about his condition he should return to his general practitioner who is in the best position to emphasise the urgency of his case directly to the consultant.
The Deputy will be aware of the £20 million major action programme which I recently launched in relation to hospital in-patient waiting lists which was specifically targeted at those areas of hospital treatment where long waiting times are causing the greatest hardship. The Western Health Board has been allocated £2,192,600 from the waiting list fund. This will enable the board to carry out an additional 1,884 procedures this year of which 160 will be orthopaedic. This should impact significantly on the average waiting times in these areas.
