Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 4 April 2019
133. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the reason children who travelled under the scoliosis action plan outsourcing initiative to a hospital (details supplied) now find themselves without access to their referring Irish consultant. [15830/19]
View answer134. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the reason children with scoliosis who travelled to a hospital (details supplied) are treated differently to children who travelled to Germany who remain patients of their Irish consultant, post surgery. [15831/19]
View answer135. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the reason letters were not issued to parents to explain the change to their children's terms of their scoliosis outsourcing agreement with the HSE and that some children are now without access to an Irish orthopaedic consultant and must present to their local emergency department if they require a spinal assessment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15832/19]
View answer136. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the cost of scoliosis outsourcing initiatives considering it now entails long-term follow-up of children by a hospital (details supplied) resulting in numerous trips to the United Kingdom by teams and patients; his views on whether this is the best policy; and his further views on whether it would be better to invest in capacity and services to carry out the surgeries and treatments here. [15833/19]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 133 to 136, inclusive, together.
The long-term strategy to develop sustainable scoliosis services is a priority for my Department and for the HSE, and the impact of investment and the implementation of the Scoliosis 10 Point Action Plan is now delivering results with a consistent reduction in waiting times being recorded.
Children's Health Ireland (CHI) advise that the total number of surgeries performed in 2018 was 418 compared with 371 in 2017. This represents an increase in activity of 12% against 2017 and an increase in activity of 87% compared to 2016 when 224 procedures were carried out.
CHI advise that as of the 29th March 2019 there were 174 patients on the Total Spinal Waiting List (including suspensions). This is a reduction of 26% (61 patients) since the same period last year when there were 235 patients on the Total Spinal Waiting List. Furthermore, the number of patients suspended has decreased by 77% in the same period, down from 64 at the end of March 2018 to 15 at the end of March 2019.
CHI is currently recruiting two additional general orthopaedic consultants which will further reduce waiting times for children for an orthopaedic outpatient appointment. More broadly, all patient referrals to the orthopaedic spinal service at CHI are reviewed and clinically prioritised by a consultant. These patients are seen in order of clinical priority. Most patients are seen within 12 months.
An additional 800 Outpatient appointments were given to patients in CHI at Crumlin in 2018 compared to 2017, which led to a 31% reduction in the overall orthopaedic outpatient waiting list.
The Department of Health is working closely with CHI with the aim of supporting the further development of a sustainable scoliosis service and ensuring that the on-going demand for services is met.
In relation to the specific queries raised by the Deputy regarding outsourcing initiatives, I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly.
