Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 30 Jan 2002

Vol. 547 No. 1

Written Answers. - Hospital Waiting Lists.

John McGuinness

Ceist:

559 Mr. McGuinness asked the Minister for Health and Children if treatment at Waterford Hospital can be expedited for a person (details supplied) in County Waterford; and the reason such an urgent case does not receive immediate attention. [1770/02]

Minister for Health and Children (Mr. Martin)

Responsibility for the provision of services at Waterford Regional Hospital rests with the South-Eastern Health Board. My Department has therefore asked the chief executive officer of the board to investigate the matter raised by the Deputy and reply to him directly.

John McGuinness

Ceist:

560 Mr. McGuinness asked the Minister for Health and Children the reason for the delay in providing treatment for a person (details supplied) in County Kilkenny. [1771/02]

Minister for Health and Children (Mr. Martin)

Responsibility for the provision of hospital services in Kilkenny rests with the South-Eastern Health Board. My Department has therefore asked the chief executive officer of the board to investigate the matter raised by the Deputy and reply to him directly.

John McGuinness

Ceist:

561 Mr. McGuinness asked the Minister for Health and Children if an ankle replacement operation can be expedited for a person (details supplied) in County Kilkenny; the number of public patients who are on waiting lists for this type of operation and hip replacements at Waterford Hospital and Kilcreene, County Kilkenny; and the steps being taken by the South-Eastern Health Board to reduce such lists. [1772/02]

Minister for Health and Children (Mr. Martin)

The provision of hospital services in the case to which the Deputy is referring is a matter for the South-Eastern Health Board. My Department has, therefore, asked the chief executive officer of the Board to look into this matter and reply directly to the Deputy as a matter of urgency.

My Department collates information on public hospital in-patient waiting lists on a quarterly basis from data supplied by health agencies. The latest available data received from the South-Eastern Health Board indicates that 233 people were awaiting admission for orthopaedic surgery, at 30 September 2001, a decrease of 53% on the comparative figure for September 2000.

The September 2001 data is broken down as follows:

Knee Replacements	30
Hip Replacements	47
Other Elective Procedures	156
Total	233

Considerable progress has been made by the South-Eastern Health Board in reducing waiting list numbers. The total number of people on public hospital waiting lists in the South-Eastern Health Board area at 30 September 2001 was 1,382, compared to the number awaiting treatment at 30 September 2000 which was 1,935. This represents an overall decrease of 553 or 29% over the 12 month period.

This year 2.03 million has already been indicated to the board by my Department under the waiting list initiative to enable hospitals to carry out waiting list procedures. My Department has asked the chief executive officer of the board to outline to the Deputy the proposals he has to further reduce waiting lists and waiting times at the hospitals in the area.