Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 9 Jul 1991

Vol. 410 No. 6

Written Answers. - Bone Marrow Transplant Operations.

Richard Bruton

Ceist:

134 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Health the number of operations carried out in the bone marrow unit in Crumlin Children's Hospital, Dublin 12 in each of the past three years; the number of staff employed in the unit; and if his attention has been drawn to the increasing difficulties of obtaining operations of this nature.

Minister for Health (Dr. O'Hanlon)

The following is the number of bone marrow transplant operations carried out over the last three years:

Year	Number of operations
1988	9
1989	8
1990	11

The unit is staffed by medical staff, trained nursing staff and a psycho-social team. A breakdown of staff is as follows:

Medical Staff	Consultant Oncologist
	House Officer
	Registrar
Trained Nursing Staff	25
Psycho-Social Team	Psychiatrist
	Psychologist
	Social Worker, 2
	Pastoral Care Team

The difficulties which the hospital experienced in the recent past were due solely to the unavailability of appropriately trained staff. The Deputy will be glad to know, however, that these difficulties have now been overcome with the appointment of six additional staff nurses who are now in place, together with a clinical teacher who is assigned to the oncology unit for the training of all staff in all aspects of oncology and bone marrow transplantation.