Enda Kenny
Question:108 Mr. E. Kenny asked the Minister for Health if he will make further orthopaedic surgeon appointments to Mayo General Hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Mayo Hospital Appointment.
The provision and management of services at Mayo General Hospital are, in the first instance, a matter for the Western Health Board. This responsibility necessarily involves the identification by the board of staffing and service needs at the hospital within the context of the overall financial resources available to it.
Under the existing employment control procedures for the health service, each agency is required to submit to my Department prioritised proposals for the filling of new and replacement permanent posts. My Department's examination of such proposals is undertaken having regard to service and personnel criteria in the context of the priority afforded to each post by the agency concerned and with particular regard to the availability of financial resources.
The Western Health Board has made an informal submission to my Department for two additional consultant orthopaedic surgeons posts at Mayo General Hospital. This request forms a part of the board's list of some 22 additional consultant posts which it has sought for its's acute hospitals. The board has been asked to prioritise the entire list and to submit costings in respect of each post so as to enable these requests to be considered further.