Vol. 497 No. 2
253 Mr. Perry asked the Minister for Health and Children if his attention has been drawn to the delays on the waiting lists for ophthalmic care in the Sligo and Leitrim area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24811/98]
The provision of sight testing in the Sligo and Leitrim area is the statutory responsibility of the North-Western Health Board. The board has informed me that there are at present 1,274 patients awaiting ophthalmic services in its area, 959 of whom are children and 315 are adults. Of the children, a total of 559 have been on a waiting list for between six and 24 months and of the adults only 22 have been on waiting lists for more than 12 months. Of that 22, some have been offered appointments but could not avail of them at the time. They will be scheduled for appointments between now and the end of the year. Despite the foregoing, measures are in place to ensure that urgent cases are dealt with immediately.
In 1998, I allocated the sum of £1 million between the eight health boards to address the issue of waiting lists for adult community ophthalmic services. This initiative has seen a reduction of over 72 per cent in the numbers on waiting lists and a reduction in mean waiting time over the course of the year. The North-Western Health Board waiting list for adult community ophthalmic services at 1 November 1997, has been reduced by over 50 per cent.
With regard to the Sligo/Leitrim area, demand for community ophthalmic services continues to increase with 1,789 new referrals in the period 1 January to 20 November this year. A total of 2,365 new patients were seen in this period, which has resulted in a reduction in the waiting list from 1,850 at the start of the year to 1,274 at present.
