Dr. Joan Gilvarry:

It is difficult to give a straight answer on this issue. We expect the results of the SCENIHR report to tell us whether there are defined health risks associated with the metal ions released, the cobalt and chromium released with the metal on metal hips. With regard to the numbers affected, it is not an exact science and all we can do is go back through all of the hospital records. From the HSE, we reckon that approximately 8,000 patients in Ireland have had metal-on-metal hip replacements. One improvement since we were here this time last year is that now we have a national joint registry which was set up and opened by the Minister under the National Office of Clinical Audit in the RCSI. Therefore, in the future we will have exact numbers for revisions and hip and knee replacements and have immediate access to these data. This improvement has been sought for some time and is welcomed by the orthopaedic community.