The provision of services in this instance is the statutory responsibility of the South Eastern Health Board.
A consultant rheumatologist was appointed by the South Eastern Health Board and took up duty on 1 February 1997. The further development of rheumatology services will be considered as part of the ongoing development of services in the south east in the context of the board's overall priorities and available funding.
It is my intention to pursue continual reductions in waiting lists and waiting times for hospital treatment. In this context, following a series of discussions with the chief executive officers of the health boards, I have announced a £10 million initiative aimed at maximising available capacity in the system to enable an additional 7,600 waiting list procedures to be performed before the end of the year. This funding is being allocated on the basis of the performance of each agency in reaching the activity targets they have agreed. The proposals to be funded are based on a series of innovative measures including use of facilities during the traditional summer closures period, cross-contracting arrangements between agencies and from the private sector, extended theatre and ward opening times, extended weekend work and the contracting of activity from hospitals in Northern Ireland.
These short-term measures are being taken in tandem with longer-term measures associated with the £2 billion investment under the national development plan, the ongoing implementation of the recommendations of the expert review group on the waiting list initiative and the national bed capacity review now under way. It is my intention to continue to take all available steps to address the short and longer term issues associated with lengthy waiting lists and waiting times.
