Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 April 2013
1294. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Health if he will provide, in tabular form, the number of people currently waiting for hip-replacement operations in the public health system; and the percentage that have been waiting for this operation for more than six months and for more than 12 months. [17191/13]
View answerImmediately following my appointment as Minister for Health, in line with the Programme for Government, I established the Special Delivery Unit. Its aim is to unblock access to acute services by improving the flow of patients through the system. As set out in Future Health, a key goal is to deliver faster more equitable access to hospital services. The implementation of the SDU Performance Improvement Programmes is a key driver of reducing waiting times for scheduled and unscheduled care in hospitals.
In relation to hip replacements on the national waiting list, at end of March 2013 I am advised that the overall number waiting is 1147. Of that total, 22% are waiting more than 6 months and 1% are waiting more than 12 months.
