Ba mhaith liom leithscéal a ghabháil as ucht an mhoill a bhí orm teacht anseo tráthnóna. Sé an chéad uair a tharla sé agus tá mé ag ceapadh go bhfuil barúil ag an Aire Stáit céard a tharla dom. Rinne mé dearmad ar an am ach oíche áirithe atá ann anocht. Ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghlacadh leis an Aire Stáit as ucht teacht isteach agus éisteacht leis an gcás atá mé chun a dhéanamh. Cuireann sé uafás orm go bhfuil orm teacht i láthair na Dála leis an gceist seo a ardú. Is scannal é go mbíonn ar dhaoine fanacht ceithre bliana, ní le haghaidh obráid ach fiú le haghaidh measúnú a fháil déanta an gá go gcuirfí obráid orthu. Tá mé ag iarraidh ar an Aire Stáit anois rud éigin a dhéanamh faoi seo. Beidh mé ag éisteacht go géar leis an rud atá le rá aige.
I have heard much from the Minister and his predecessor about the waiting list initiative. In reply to a Dáil question I put down on 25 May the Minister boasted about it. However, the waiting lists for orthopaedic operations are masked by the fact that it takes four years for a person to be assessed for orthopaedic treatment. In his reply on 25 May the Minister said the patient about whom I inquired was placed on the out-patient waiting list on 4 March 1994 and should be called for an assessment within the next four years. In other words, a person suffering severe pain could have to wait up to four years for assessment for an orthopaedic procedure. That is clearly intolerable.
Patients waiting for assessment for orthopaedic operations are often in severe pain. All they get from the health board is a standard reply that an assessment cannot be carried out. They are normally told that if their condition deteriorates they should get another letter from their doctor. It is obvious that people who have already been sent by the general practitioner for assessment must be in need of orthopaedic treatment and are suffering pain. It has been suggested that the answer to the problem is for people to queue jump on the basis of deteriorating condition, but that would obviously mean somebody else will go down the list. The solution to this problem obviously does not lie in such an approach. Finance must be provided so that everybody referred to a consultant for assessment is seen within a reasonable period.
There is a need for an urgent crash programme of assessment in the Western Health Board area. I accept the logical and inevitable result of such a programme would be to increase the waiting list for procedures. That would bring to the surface the extent of the underlying problem, which at present is masked by false statistics. I call on the Minister to show compassion for the large number of people in the Western Health Board area who are in severe pain due to the failure to provide adequate funding for orthopaedic assessments and procedures. Where serious pain is involved, it is unacceptable that lack of resources is used as an excuse. Resources are found for many purposes and the State should provide adequate resources to ensure people are not left in severe pain. I hope the Minister will have good news and that he will address this matter with the urgency it deserves.
Arís mo leithscéal gan a bheith anseo ar leath-uair taréis a hocht.
