Vol. 505 No. 3
180 Mr. Deenihan asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will approve the necessary funding to enable the Southern Health Board to employ the required staff to provide a full-time epidural service at Tralee general hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13743/99]
The provision of an epidural service is in the first instance the responsibility of the Southern Health Board. There is currently a limited epidural service available at Tralee general hospital, which is dependent on both the availability of consultant anaesthetists and the medical requirements of the patient. The further development of the epidural service is a priority with hospital management. They have upgraded two anaesthetic senior house officers to registrar level since 1 January 1999 with the objective of improving the availability of the epidural service.
The hospital now propose to introduce a 24 hour, seven day epidural service from 1 July 1999. This will necessitate the employment of additional staff and other ancillary costs. It is estimated that the additional cost of this development would be £220,000 per annum and the hospital have submitted proposals to my Department for funding of this development.
