asked the Minister for Health the number of hip operations carried out in St. Mary's Orthopaedic Hospital, Cork, and other hospitals under the Southern Health Board in 1985; the amount of money allocated for such operations; the amount of money spent to date for 1985; and if he will give a comparison between these figures for 1985 and 1984.
Written Answers. - Hip Replacement Operations.
26.
(1) Prior to 1985 hip replacement in the Southern Health Board was carried out at St. Mary's Orthopaedic Hospital, Cork. In 1985 the programme was extended to Tralee General Hospital.
(2) Overall in 1985, 514 hip replacement operations were carried out in the boards area, that is 401 in St. Mary's Orthopaedic Hospital and 113 in Tralee General Hospital. This represents an increase of 16 per cent on the 442 which were carried out in 1984.
(3) Overall expenditure on the purchase of implants in the board increased by 40 per cent in 1985, that is from £154,000 to £215,000. A comparison of the 1985 expenditure with the original budget allocated by the board to each hospital is as follows: St. Mary's Hospital expenditure £141,000, original budget £115,000; Tralee General Hospital expenditure £74,000, original budget £37,000.