Vol. 439 No. 4
50 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Health the total number of persons listed as seeking orthodontic treatment in each of the health board areas on 31 December in each of the years from 1989 to 1993; the numbers of such patients in each category who received treatment under the public health service; the numbers who failed to obtain service; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The information requested by the Deputy has been sought from the eight health boards and will be forwarded to him as soon as possible.
51 Mr. J. Higgins asked the Minister for Health if he has satisfied himself that the waiting time for a person (details supplied) in County Galway in respect of a hip replacement on the Western Health Board waiting list is satisfactory; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I wrote to the Deputy on 8 February last, indicating that this patient was on the out-patient orthopaedic waiting list for Merlin Park Regional Hospital and that the Western Health Board had indicated that it would be approximately 12 months before she would be called for assessment.
The Deputy will appreciate that the scheduling of appointments for assessment at out-patient clinics is a matter for the consultant concerned, and urgent cases are always accorded priority. Should this patient be 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.
Last year I was pleased to have been in a position to allocate funds under the waiting list initiative for the equipping and commissioning of the two new clean-air theatres at Merlin Park Regional Hospital. In addition, while provision was made for the carrying out of an additional 160 orthopaedic procedures at the hospital, this target was exceeded and a total of 200 additional procedures were performed.
The Deputy will be pleased to learn that an additional sum of £400,000 has been included in the Western Health Board's 1994 revenue allocation for the further expansion of orthopaedic services at Merlin Park Hospital. These developments should help to reduce the average waiting time for orthopaedic patients.
