Michael Ring
Ceist:49 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Mayo will be called for an operation to remove cataracts from his eyes. [12077/96]
Written Answers. - Hospital Waiting List.
Limerick East): The Western Health Board have informed me that this person is on the waiting list and it is expected he will be called for his operation within the next few weeks.
Michael Ring
Ceist:50 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Mayo will be called for a hip replacement operation in view of the fact that she is in considerable pain and has already been waiting for over three and a half years. [12078/96]
Limerick East): I have been informed by the Western Health Board that this patient was recently reassessed in Mayo General Hospital and as a result of that assessment she is to be called for an appointment to the out-patients clinic for a further review within the next two months. As the Deputy is aware the scheduling of surgery is a matter for the consultant concerned. Should this person feel that her condition has deteriorated she should contact her general practitioner who is best placed to highlight the urgency of her case directly to the consultant.
Michael Ring
Ceist:51 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Mayo will be called for an operation on his foot. [12096/96]
Limerick East): I have been informed by the Western Health Board that this person is on the consultant orthopaedic surgeon's list for admission and the board expect that he will be called in July for his operation.
Matt Brennan
Ceist:52 Mr. M. Brennan asked the Minister for Health the plans, if any, he has to address the delays on waiting lists for cardiac surgery; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12129/96]
Limerick East): I am very concerned about the number of people on the waiting list for cardiac surgery and I am anxious to reduce the waiting period for those people at present on the list. The strategy to deal with cardiac surgery waiting lists has been to provide additional facilities and infrastructure within the public hospital service to increase annual activity. To date this strategy has resulted in additional cardiac surgeon being appointed at the Mater Hospital where the annual activity for open heart operations has been increased by 250 per year to 1,000 per year, and an additional cardiac surgeon being appointed to Cork University Hospital to increase the output from 200 to 400 open heart operations per year. The combined effect of this action will be to increase annual activity for cardiac surgery to 1,400 per year an increase of 47 per cent.
I am anxious to expand the current public hospital capacity for cardiac surgery. I am fully committed to the provision of additional capacity including the appointment of additional cardiac surgeons on a permanent basis within the public hospital system over the next two to three years. This examination of the long-term requirements has already begun. However, because of the need to ensure that future developments are well planned and to allow sufficient time to put in place the type of permanent, expensive, high cost infrastructure required for cardiac surgery it will take some time before this additional capacity comes on stream.
In the interim my Department is engaged in the purchase of open heart surgery from health care organisations at prices which are reasonable and affordable on a once-off basis. I wish to stress that the major objective is to increase the permanent capacity for cardiac surgery in the public hospital sector and in the meantime to provide additional procedures quickly to ease the problems of those awaiting cardiac operations. I am hopeful that the short-term approach, with the long-term planning initiative, will ensure that waiting times for cardiac surgery are reduced significantly and I look forward to co-operation from everybody involved to bring this about as quickly as possible.