Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 21 January 2015
3. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Health his views on waiting lists at Cappagh Hospital, Dublin, in respect of knee replacement surgery; if he will provide a breakdown of the length of time patients are waiting; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2437/15]
View answerI tabled this question because Cappagh Hospital has come onto my radar on a number of occasions - I am sure the position is the same with other Members present - in the context of waiting times relating to knee and hip surgical procedures. There have been reports to the effect that operating theatres at the hospital are sitting idle because the authorities there do not have the resources available to allow procedures to be carried out in them. Question No. 27 in my name relates to an elderly and very ill woman in my area who has already been to St. James's Hospital and who has been informed that it will be almost 15 months before she will be operated upon. This is a serious matter. What is happening is not acceptable and I do not believe the Minister would stand over it. Will he indicate what is being done in the context of reducing waiting times?
There are currently 686 patients waiting for knee replacement surgery at Cappagh Hospital. Some 15% of these patients, approximately 100, have been waiting between nine and 12 months and 12%, in the region of 70, have been waiting for more than a year. I met representatives from the hospital late last year to discuss the challenges it faces. In 2014, there was an increase of approximately 40% in the number of overall patient referrals. This increase in demand, coupled with a reduced budget, cessation of National Treatment Purchase Fund, NTPF, funding, and a reduction in private income limited the availability of suitably qualified staff and this led to a reduction in surgical capability at the hospital and an increase in waiting lists. The HSE has been engaging with Cappagh Hospital on an ongoing basis in order to identity potential initiatives that would allow for a reduction in waiting times for patients for surgery. Further funding was provided in late 2014 which allowed the hospital to undertake additional workloads.
I am happy to inform the Deputy that the HSE has also provided Cappagh Hospital with additional resources - in the form of an expanded budget - for 2015 to allow for an increase in inpatient procedures. The 2015 budget allocation process has enabled the opening of closed and under-utilised capacity at Cappagh Hospital. This will enable the opening of an additional 1.5 theatres per day - bringing the total number in use to four - and will allow the authorities at the hospital to increase activity levels. The hospital will target this new capacity to significantly address its current waiting list breach volumes. The HSE will continue to engage with the hospital to explore mechanisms to ensure optimal use of resources, including theatre capacity, at the hospital within the overall resources available to the acute sector.
I thank the Minister for his reply. I am sure people who are awaiting hip and knee surgery will welcome additional resources being made available. This matter comes down to the number of nurses and consultants available to carry out procedures. If sufficient staff are available, this ensures that referrals can be made and admissions facilitated as quickly as possible. It is a terrible tragedy that consultants are informing patients that they should contact their local Deputies for assistance if they are having difficulty in the context of waiting lists. That should not be the case. The HSE should be able to identify where problems exist and then, as the Minister indicated, it should be in a position to try to address them by putting the necessary resources in place. I welcome the fact that the latter is now happening. Steps should be taken to ensure that waiting lists are checked every two months in order to gauge the level of movement relating to them.
Waiting lists are checked every month or two months and are validated every three months. As a result of the modest increase in the budget for 2015, capacity and workload at Cappagh Hospital will increase and more procedures will be carried out there. Of course, demand is also increasing. It is my hope and expectation that - on foot of the expanded budget - activity will increase faster than demand. However, I cannot say that this will happen for certain and we will not know the exact position until later in the year. While what I have outlined will allow the hospital to open four operating theatres every day, there is still unused capacity there. If I had additional moneys available - I do not - we would be able to do even more. Like every other country, Ireland is obliged to operate its health service within budget.
One of the advantages for Cappagh Hospital is that it does not have an accident and emergency department and is not, therefore, obliged to restrict surgery when surges occur. This must be borne in mind when discussing the reconfiguration of accident and emergency departments at hospitals throughout the country. More elective work can be done at hospitals which are not obliged to deal with unpredictable surges at accident and emergency departments.
