Jim Higgins
Ceist:180 Mr. J. Higgins asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Galway with malformed feet will be given an appointment at a health board hospital.
Written Answers. - Orthopaedic Out-Patient.
This patient is on the orthopaedic out-patient waiting list for Merlin Park Hospital but it is not possible for the hospital to give an appointment date at this stage. The Deputy will appreciate that the scheduling of hospital appointments is a matter for the consultant concerned and urgent cases are always given priority. Should the patient's parents/guardians feel concerned that her condition has deteriorated they should return to their general practitioner who would be in the best position to emphasise the urgency of her case to the consultant directly.
The Deputy will be pleased to know that an additional £850,000 has been allocated to the Western Health Board from the 1994 waiting list initiative fund. Orthopaedics is one of the areas which has been targeted under this initiative. The additional procedures to be undertaken this year will enable the board to further reduce the waiting time in this specialty.