Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 8 May 2001

Vol. 535 No. 4

Written Answers - Consultant Appointments.

Richard Bruton

Ceist:

170 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Health and Children if any assessment has been carried out on the adequacy of the provision of neurologists and neurosurgeons for the population; the ratio of such specialists to population here compared to each of the EU member states; his plans for increasing provision in this area; the trend in the number of persons waiting for treatment in these fields over the past four years; and the average waiting time for an individual referred by a general practitioner to receive a first appointment with a neurosurgeon. [12733/01]

Seán Barrett

Ceist:

196 Mr. Barrett asked the Minister for Health and Children the plans he has to arrange for the appointment of additional neurologists; and if his attention has been drawn to the fact that there is one neurologist per 350,000 people here and that a patient can wait up to 18 months to see a neurologist. [12949/01]

Minister for Health and Children (Mr. Martin)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 170 and 196 together.

The issues raised by the Deputies have been brought to my attention by various professional interest groups in the area of neurology, neurosurgery and neurophysiology. Last year the Irish Consultant Neurologists Association submitted a report to my Department which identified a need to increase the number of consultant neurologists in this country to meet an increasing demand from people presenting with neurological disorders. The report considered the need for further expansion nationwide, as the nature of neurological practice is changing with new effective complex therapies for many disorders such as epilepsy and Parkinson's disease becoming available. The challenge is to develop an integrated and co-ordinated health and social welfare system that is geared towards the particular needs of the individual.

Comhairle na nOspidéal is the statutory body whose main function is to regulate appointments of consultant medical staff in hospitals providing services under the Health Acts, and to specify qualifications for such appointments. It also advises on matters relating to the organisation and operation of hospital services and publishes reports relating to such services. Arising from a number of meetings with various interest groups I have requested Comhairle na nOspidéal to conduct a review of neurological services and related issues with the following terms of reference:

"To examine the existing arrangements for the provision of consultant-level neurology and neurophysiology services nationally and following consultation with the interests concerned, to make recommendations to Comhairle na nOspidéal on the future organisation and development of neurology and neurophysiology services. The review will focus on updating the 1991 Comhairle report taking into account recent advances in and increasing demand for neurological and neurophysiological services."

The need for additional investment in the neurological and neurosurgical service will be considered in the light of the review by An Comhairle, other competing priorities, and the availability of adequate funding. I look forward to receiving An Comhairle's report in due course.

With regard to the trend in the number of persons waiting for treatment in the areas of neurology and neurosurgery the waiting list figures for 1997 to 2000 indicate the following:

	Neurology	Neurosurgery
December 2000	155	516
December 1999	128	478
December 1998	80	414
December 1997	59	175

With regard to the waiting time for an individual referred by a general practitioner to receive a first appointment with a neurosurgeon, this information is not routinely collected by my Department. My Department has therefore asked the regional chief executive of the Eastern Regional Health Authority and the chief executive officer of each health board to compile the figures for each of their areas and to forward them directly to the Deputy.