Limerick East): The information requested by the Deputy has been received from the Western Health Board and is set out on the following table.
I have stated on previous occasions that I do not consider the level of orthopaedic services currently being provided to the patients in the Western Health Board area to be sufficient. The demand for this service continues to grow and is influenced by a number of factors which are outside the direct control of the health board, such as an increasingly elderly population, changing lifestyle patterns and advances in the specialty itself.
In response to the problem of growing waiting lists, my Department allocated a sum in excess of £700,000 to the Western Health Board in 1995, which included moneys to target outpatient waiting times in orthopaedics. As a result of this investment, the board was able to provide an additional 2,365 out-patient assessments/procedures to patients in the western region, bringing the total number of outpatients seen in that year to 15,718. I understand from the board that an additional orthopaedic consultant took up duty in January 1996, and that this will have a positive impact on outpatient cover. The board has further informed me that it is continuing to examine practical ways of alleviating the current situation, such as employing an additional locum orthopaedic surgeon.
With regard to a solution to excessive waiting times in the longer term, the Deputy will recall that I gave approval last year for the inclusion of an orthopaedic unit in Phase 2 of Mayo General Hospital. This planned development, which will consist of extensive theatre and inpatient facilities for orthopaedic patients, will also allow the Western Health Board to assess 1,400 new patients annually at outpatient clinics.
