Vol. 450 No. 2
70 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Mayo will be called for a hip operation in view of the fact that he has been on the waiting list in Galway for two years and is in considerable pain and virtually unable to walk. [4966/95]
Limerick East): The Western Health Board has indicated that the patient in question was placed on the in-patient waiting list on 19 January 1995 and is due to be called for admission within the next four months approximately.
The Deputy will appreciate that the admission of a patient to hospital is a matter for the consultant concerned and each patient is assessed to determine his or her medical priority. Should the patient feel concerned that his condition has deteriorated, he should return to his medical practitioner who is in the best position to emphasise the urgency of his case directly to the consultant.
The Deputy may be aware that, under the 1994 waiting list initiative, a total of £850,000 was allocated to the Western Health Board for the provision of 1,222 additional procedures, including 109 orthopaedic procedures. This should reduce the overall waiting time for patients in the specialties targeted. In addition, development funds of £400,000 were provided to the board in 1994 for the expansion of orthopaedic services at Merlin Park Regional Hospital. As a result, approval has issued to the Western Health Board to recruit a consultant orthopaedic surgeon and a consultant anaesthetist together with the necessary support staff.
