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Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 7 Jun 2000

Vol. 520 No. 4

Written Answers. - Hospital Waiting Lists.

Paul McGrath

Question:

104 Mr. McGrath asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will arrange for the admission of a person (details supplied) in County Westmeath to Beaumont Hospital as soon as possible. [15823/00]

Willie Penrose

Question:

107 Mr. Penrose asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will take urgent steps to have a person (details supplied) in County Westmeath, who is currently in need of urgent treatment and is a patient at Tullamore General Hospital, admitted to Beaumont Hospital for an urgent operation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15826/00]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 104 and 107 together.

The responsibility for the provision of services at Beaumont Hospital is a matter for the Eastern Regional Health Authority in the first instance. My Department has asked the chief executive officer of the authority to investigate the matter raised by the Deputies and to reply directly to them as a matter of urgency.

John Browne

Question:

105 Mr. Browne (Carlow-Kilkenny) asked the Minister for Health and Children if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the waiting time for tonsil removals in the South-Eastern Health Board Region at Ardkeen Hospital, Waterford is between three and four years; his views on whether this delay causes serious damage to the health of the person waiting; and the plans he has to cut back on this delay. [15824/00]

The provision of medical treatment in this instance is the statutory responsibility of the South-Eastern Health Board. In-patient waiting list statistics are routinely collected by my Department. There were 235 patients waiting ENT procedures including tonsillectomies at 31 March 2000. In relation to the waiting list position in the south east region, the board has advised me that any patient who requires urgent medical treatment will be provided with that treatment as a matter of priority. I am sure the Deputy will be aware that the prioritisation of medical treatment is a matter for the consultant concerned in the first instance.

Under the waiting list initiative I have provided funding of £1.5 million to the board this year to carry out additional waiting list activity. I have also recently allocated a further sum of £475,000 under the initiative, aimed at maximising available capacity in the system to enable additional waiting list procedures to be performed. I understand from the board that this funding will be used to perform additional ENT, orthopaedic and ophthalmology procedures. The board has also committed itself to an in-depth review of all patients awaiting treatment in their hospitals and an examination of the length of waiting lists and waiting times to ensure greater access to hospital services in the South-Eastern Health Board area.
It is my intention to pursue continual reductions in waiting lists and waiting times for hospital treatment. In this context, following a series of discussions with the chief executive officers of the health boards, I have announced a £10 million initiative aimed at maximising available capacity in the system to enable an additional 7,600 waiting list procedures to be performed before the end of the year. This funding is being allocated on the basis of the performance of each agency in reaching the activity targets they have agreed. The proposals to be funded are based on a series of innovative measures including use of facilities during the traditional summer closures period, cross-contracting arrangements between agencies and from the private sector, extended theatre and ward opening times, extended weekend work and the contracting of activity from hospitals in Northern Ireland.
These short-term measures are being taken in tandem with longer term measures associated with the £2 billion investment under the national development plan, the ongoing implementation of the recommendations of the expert review group on the waiting list initiative and the national bed capacity review now under way. It is my intention to continue to take all available steps to address the short and longer term issues associated with lengthy waiting lists and waiting times.
I am confident that the substantial additional resources provided to the South-Eastern Health Board under the waiting list initiative coupled with the review being carried out by the board and the additional ENT procedures will show a marked improvement in the waiting lists in the south east region.
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