Vol. 505 No. 3
195 Mr. G. Reynolds asked the Minister for Health and Children if his Department will devise a system where a neurosurgeon will attend to patients suffering from multiple sclerosis in Sligo rather than have them travel to Dublin for the required consultation or treatment. [13820/99]
The provision of medical treatment to eligible persons in County Sligo is the statutory responsibility of the North-Western Health Board in the first instance. Neurosurgery is a highly specialised procedure and it is considered appropriate for our population size in this country that we have a limited number of centres carrying out this type of surgery. Beaumont hospital, Dublin is the national centre for neurosurgery and there is also a smaller neurosurgery unit in Cork University hospital.
