Hospital Services.

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 November 2004

Thursday, 18 November 2004

Questions (73)

Jim O'Keeffe

Question:

73 Mr. J. O’Keeffe asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children her estimate of the number of persons who are unable in the short to medium term to obtain an appointment with a consultant in order that they can be put on a waiting list for an operation for orthopaedic surgery involving hips and knees; and her proposals to deal with this problem in view of the fact that some of these persons can be waiting for a year or more for an appointment to be placed on a waiting list. [29513/04]

Written answers

Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children (Ms Harney)

Responsibility for the management and monitoring of outpatient waiting lists, including orthopaedic outpatient waiting lists, rests with individual hospitals and health boards. It is a matter for each hospital to prioritise their services based on patient need and use their available resources to best effect to ensure that patient services are delivered efficiently and effectively. Figures on the number of persons waiting for an outpatient appointment with a consultant are not collected by my Department. However, I intend to raise with the national treatment purchase fund the question of how we might begin to make progress in relation to outpatient appointments in 2005.

In accordance with health strategy objectives, the Government's immediate focus is on the reduction of waiting lists and waiting times for in-patients and day case treatments in acute hospitals. This is being particularly facilitated by the National Treatment Purchase Fund.