Vol. 435 No. 9
93 Mr. J. Higgins asked the Minister for Health the reason a person (details supplied) in County Mayo who applied for surgery has been told by the Western Health Board that it will be approximately two to three years before he will be called for assessment.
107 Mr. Molloy asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the fact that a person (details supplied) in County Galway has been informed that it will be four to five years before she will be assessed for a hip operation at Merlin Park Hospital, Galway; the action, if any, he is taking to ensure that the waiting period for operations in the Western Health Board area is reduced to a reasonable length of time; if he will approve the appointment of additional orthopaedic surgeons at this hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 93 and 107 together.
The scheduling of appointments for assessment at out-patient clinics is a matter for the consultant concerned, and urgent cases are always accorded priority. Should a patient be concerned about his or her condition, they should return to their general practitioner who would be in the best position to emphasise the urgency of their case to the consultant concerned.
The Deputy will be aware that the Western Health Board received an allocation of £2,192,600 under the recent Waiting List Initiative, the highest amount given to any of the health agencies, and, as a result, has contracted to perform an additional 160 orthopaedic procedures at Merlin Park Hospital this year, including 85 additional hip replacement operations. This work is now well underway.
In addition, the recent opening of the new Clean Air theatres in Merlin Park Hospital, also funded by the Waiting List Initiative, should significantly increase the throughout of orthopaedic cases.
My Department has recently asked the health board to prioritise its consultant staffing requirements, including orthopaedics, and to submit detailed costings so that these can be further considered in my Department.
