Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 6 Oct 1999

Vol. 508 No. 4

Written Answers. - Hospital Waiting Lists.

Ulick Burke

Question:

165 Mr. U. Burke asked the Minister for Health and Children the plans, if any, he has to reduce the waiting lists for hip and joint replacements, cataract operations, orthodontic treatment and heart by-pass operations within the Western Health Board hospitals at University College Hospital and Merlin Park Hospital, Galway; the number of patients on these waiting lists at April 1999 and December 1998 and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19288/99]

Minister for Health and Children (Mr. Cowen)

The information requested by the Deputy relating to in-patient waiting lists is set out in the following table.

Western Health Board

April 1999

Mayo General Hospital, Castlebar

SpecialtyName	Procedure Type	PublicWaitingList
Surgery	All procedures	79
Sub-Total	Mayo General Hospital, Castlebar	79

Merlin Park Regional Hospital, Galway

SpecialtyName	Procedure Type	PublicWaitingList
Orthopaedics	Other elective procedures	138
Orthopaedics	Total hip replacements	63
Orthopaedics	Total knee replacements	37
Sub-Total	Merlin Park Regional Hospital,Galway	238

Roscommon General Hospital

SpecialtyName	Procedure Type	PublicWaitingList
Surgery	All procedures	12
Sub-Total	Roscommon General Hospital	12

University College Hospital, Galway

SpecialtyName	Procedure Type	PublicWaitingList
Cardiology		68
E.N.T.	Adults (all E.N.T.procedures)	557
E.N.T.	Children (grommets)	16
E.N.T.	Children (other procedures)	16
E.N.T.	Children (tonsils/adenoids)	98
Opthalmology	Adults (cataracts)	685
Opthalmology	Adults (other procedures)	325
Opthalmology	Children (all procedures)	25
Plastic Surgery	Adults (functional)	474
Plastic Surgery	Children (all procedures)	101
Surgery	All procedures	129
Urology	All procedures	325
Vascular	Varicose veins	209
Sub-Total	University Hospital, Galway	3,028

Health Board Total

Western Health Board

3,357

December 1998

Mayo General Hospital, Castlebar

Specialty Name	Procedure Type	PublicWaitingList
Surgery	All procedures	72
Sub-Total	Mayo General Hospital,Castlebar	72

Merlin Park Regional Hospital, Galway

Specialty Name	Procedure Type	PublicWaitingList
Orthopaedics	Other elective procedures	163
Orthopaedics	Total hip replacements	139
Orthopaedics	Total knee replacements	100
Sub-Total	Merlin Park RegionalHospital, Galway	402

Roscommon General Hospital

Specialty Name	Procedure Type	PublicWaitingList
Surgery	All procedures	10
Sub-Total	Roscommon GeneralHospital	10

University College Hospital, Galway

Specialty Name	Procedure Type	PublicWaitingList
Cardiology		118
E.N.T.	Adults (all E.N.T.procedures)	555
E.N.T.	Children (grommets)	38
E.N.T.	Children (other procedures)	12
E.N.T.	Children (tonsils/adenoids)	163
Opthalmology	Adults (cataracts)	775
Opthalmology	Adults (other procedures)	170
Opthalmology	Children (all procedures)	25
Plastic Surgery	Adults (functional)	462
Plastic Surgery	Children (all procedures)	110
Surgery	All procedures	363
Urology	All procedures	457
Vascular	Other procedures	16
Vascular	Varicose veins	132
Sub-Total	University CollegeHospital, Galway	3,396

Health Board Total

Western Health Board

3,880

Orthodontic services are provided on an out-patient basis and my Department has recently begun to collect information regarding waiting lists in this area. I will arrange to have information in respect of the Western Health Board forwarded to the Deputy as soon as it is available.

The provision of medical services is a matter for the Western Health Board in the first instance. The board received funding of £867,000 under the waiting list initiative in 1998 which represented an increase of 44 per cent on the funding approved by the previous Government in 1997. In 1999 I provided a total of £1,773,000 to the Western Health Board under the waiting list initiative. The board's waiting list returns for the quarter ended 31 March 1999 indicate that a reduction of 523 or 13.48 per cent has already been achieved in the numbers waiting since the start of the year.

I am pleased to inform the Deputy that nationally, the waiting list figures at the end of June 1999 show a reduction of 1,072 on the March figures. This means that waiting lists have fallen by almost 3,000, 8 per cent, since the beginning of this year. The reductions in March and June 1999 are the first since December 1996. The results are the first time in which waiting lists have fallen in two successive quarters.

Since coming into office I have taken an integrated approach to the problem of waiting lists. As the Deputy will be aware, I commissioned a review of the waiting list initiative. I am now implementing a series of measures aimed at tackling the root causes of waiting lists. I allocated £20 million this year to agencies specifically to undertake waiting list work, with £3 million of this funding being allocated to the agencies who achieved the greatest improvements in their waiting lists in the first quarter of the year. This was in line with the recommendations of the review group report.

I also allocated £9 million to services to older people and £2 million to accident and emergency services with the aim of freeing acute hospital beds by ensuring the streamlining of emergency services and providing additional step-down and rehabilitation facilities for older people.

I am confident that the measures I have taken in tackling waiting lists represents the best way of addressing the underlying causes of waiting lists and long waiting times.

Brian O'Shea

Question:

166 Mr. O'Shea asked the Minister for Health and Children the proposals, if any, he has to shorten the waiting time on the general surgical routine waiting list at Waterford Regional Hospital in view of the fact that the waiting time at present is three to four years and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19292/99]

Minister for Health and Children (Mr. Cowen)

The provision of medical services to eligible persons at Waterford Regional Hospital is a matter for the South-Eastern Health Board in the first instance. The board received funding of £697,000 under the waiting list initiative in 1998 which represented an increase of 44 per cent on the funding approved by the previous Government in 1997. In 1999 I provided a total of £1,351,000 to the South-Eastern Health Board under the waiting list initiative. The board's waiting list returns for the quarter ended 30 June 1999 indicate that a reduction of 139 or 84.2 per cent has already been achieved in the numbers waiting for general surgery at Waterford Regional Hospital since the start of the year. This represents an overall reduction of 81.1 per cent in the numbers waiting for general surgery since end of December 1997.

I am pleased to inform the Deputy that nationally, the waiting list figures at the end of June 1999 show a reduction of 1,072 on the March figures. This means that waiting lists have fallen by almost 3,000, 8 per cent, since the beginning of this year. The reductions in March and June 1999 are the first since December 1996. The results are the first time in which waiting lists have fallen in two successive quarters.

Since coming into office, I have taken an integrated approach to the problem of waiting lists. As the Deputy will be aware, I commissioned a review of the waiting list initiative. I am now implementing a series of measures aimed at tackling the root causes of waiting lists. I allocated £20 million this year to agencies specifically to undertake waiting list work, with £3 million of this funding being allocated to the agencies who achieved the greatest improvements in their waiting lists in the first quarter of the year. This was in line with the recommendations of the review group report.

I also allocated £9 million to services to older people and £2 million to accident and emergency services, with the aim of freeing acute hospital beds by ensuring the streamlining of emergency services and providing additional step-down and rehabilitation facilities for older people.

I am confident that the measures I have taken in tackling waiting lists represent the best way of addressing the underlying causes of waiting lists and long waiting times.