Vol. 524 No. 5
272 Mr. Bell asked the Minister for Health and Children the number of patients on the waiting list for tonsil operations in the North Eastern Health Board area; the hospitals in the region that are carrying out this procedure; the number of patients who are operated on per week; the average waiting time in this regard; if his Department has any plans to improve this serious situation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22891/00]
The North-Eastern Health Board had 259 people on the waiting list for ENT procedures, including patients awaiting tonsil operations, at 30 June 2000, the latest date for which figures are available. I understand from the North-Eastern Health Board that ENT procedures for the Louth-Meath area are carried out by Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda with the average waiting time being three months for children and 12 months for adults. ENT procedures for the Cavan-Monaghan area are carried out in Omagh as part of North-South co-operation initiative, the average waiting time for procedures being 12 to 24 months. The scheduling of procedures is a matter for the North-Eastern Health Board.
I am pleased to inform the Deputies that the overall numbers on waiting lists as at 30 June 2000 fell by 5,004 which is a reduction of 13.58% on the end of the December 1999 quarter. This welcome reduction is a reflection of the major priority that is being attached to addressing high waiting lists.
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 earlier this year, I announced a £10 million initiative aimed at maximising available capacity in the system to enable additional waiting list procedures to be performed before the end of the year. This brings the dedicated funding to waiting list procedures to £34 million this year.
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.
