Vol. 456 No. 7
77 Mr. E. Byrne asked the Minister for Health the steps, if any, he intends to take to reduce the long waiting times for persons (details supplied) in Dublin 12, awaiting orthopaedic operations in the Adelaide Hospital. [14601/95]
Limerick East): The first-mentioned patient is on the waiting list for orthopaedic surgery since earlier this year. The hospital authorities are unable to give a precise admission date at this stage. As you are aware, the scheduling of such admissions is a matter for the hospital consultant concerned and each case is assessed to determine medical priority. Should the patient feel that his condition has deteriorated, 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 second-mentioned patient was scheduled for admission on 10 October 1995.
The Deputy will be aware that, under the 1995 waiting list initiative, the Government has committed £8 million to continue the reduction in waiting times which was achieved under previous initiatives in 1993 and 1994. Since the first initiative commenced in June 1993, overall in-patient waiting list figures have been reduced by over 40 per cent in the period to December 1994. A target of 10,394 additional procedures, including 1,785 orthopaedic procedures has been set for 1995.
The Adelaide Hospital was allocated £377,500 under the 1955 initiative to undertake an extra 240 orthopaedic procedures. It was also allocated an additional £350,000 in 1995 to facilitate the opening of extra beds in medicine and orthopaedic surgery. The result of these measures will be to reduce overall waiting times for patients awaiting orthopaedic treatment in Dublin.
