asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the fact that there is a four year waiting list for spectacles in the Bantry Clinic, County Cork; and in particular, if he will consider the position of a person (details supplied) in County Cork who has been on a waiting list for the past three and a half years.
Written Answers. - Bantry, Cork, Area Ophthalmic Service.
300.
Up to recently the Southern Health Board had difficulty in increasing the ophthalmic service to the Bantry area due to the unavailability of consultant ophthalmologists. However, the health board are now making arrangements to hold additional clinic sessions with a view to eliminating the backlog. At present patients who are certified by their general practitioners as being in urgent need of treatment are given priority.
The person referred to by the Deputy was notified by the health board on 10 February 1988 that his appointment could be expedited if he submitted a certificate of urgency from his general practitioner but there has been no response to this offer from the health board.