Vol. 508 No. 1
541 Mr. O'Shea asked the Minister for Health and Children the proposals, if any, he has to substantially reduce the waiting time for general medical services ENT patients at Waterford Regional Hospital in view of the fact that the waiting period for routine appointments is three years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18386/99]
The provision of medical services to eligible persons at Waterford Regional Hospital is a matter for the South-Eastern Health Board in the first instance. The board received funding of £697,000 under the waiting list initiative in 1998 which represented an increase of 44 per cent on the funding approved by the previous Government in 1997. In 1999 I provided a total of £1,351,000 to the South-Eastern Health Board under the waiting list initiative. This has enabled the board to target an additional 192 ENT procedures at Waterford Regional Hospital during this year. The board's waiting list returns for the quarter ended 30 June 1999 indicate that a reduction of 63 or 19 per cent has already been achieved in the numbers waiting for ENT surgery since the start of the year. This represents an overall reduction of 47 per cent in the numbers waiting for ENT surgery since end of December 1997.
I am pleased to inform the Deputy that nationally the waiting list figures at the end of June 1999 show a reduction of 1,072 on the March figures. This means that waiting lists have fallen by almost 3,000, some 8 per cent since the beginning of this year. The reductions in March and June 1999 are the first since December 1996. The results are the first time in which waiting lists have fallen in two successive quarters.
Since coming into office I have taken an integrated approach to the problem of waiting lists. As the Deputy will be aware, I commissioned a review of the waiting list initiative. I am now implementing a series of measures aimed at tackling the root causes of waiting lists. I allocated £20 million this year to agencies specifically to undertake waiting list work, with £3 million of this funding being allocated to the agencies who achieved the greatest improvements in their waiting lists in the first quarter of the year. This was in line with the recommendations of the review group report.
I also allocated £9 million to services to older people and £2 million to accident and emergency services with the aim of freeing acute hospital beds by ensuring the streamlining of emergency services and providing additional step-down and rehabilitation facilities for older people.
I am confident the measures I have taken in tackling waiting lists represents the best way of addressing the underlying causes of waiting lists and long waiting times.
