Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chairman for his indulgence and the committee for allowing me, as a non-member, to pose some questions. I will endeavour to be very brief.

I refer specifically to the issue of governance, particularly as it relates to Cork University Maternity Hospital which the Minister visited last week. Following the visit I asked a parliamentary question about the engagement with clinicians at the hospital. I am particularly delighted that Professor Louise Kenny is here. I acknowledge publicly the work she has done, particularly as a principal investigator and a Science Foundation Ireland funding awardee. I also acknowledge the work being done at the infant centre at Cork University Maternity Hospital where the research conducted is world class.

To get down to brass tacks, my parliamentary question was related specifically to the issue of waiting lists for gynecological services. We have had an articulation of the pressures and the potential for the presentation of cancer cases in the absence of proper and timely interventions. When I asked the Minister what his intentions were on waiting lists, he replied:

I am assured that the 2017 NTPF waiting list initiative will help to alleviate some of the difficulties in Cork. In 2017, the NTPF will have an allocation of €20 million and, in the first instance, in the region of €5 million will be targeted at day case procedures. The NTPF anticipate that 2,500 of the longest waiting day case patients, including patients on the CUMH waiting list, will be treated under this initiative.

My question is very simple. Is the National Treatment Purchase Fund the proper mechanism under which women waiting to be seen at Cork University Maternity Hospital should be dealt with? I have my doubts about whether the National Treatment Purchase Fund is the correct mechanism or the most appropriate solution to this problem and I ask Professor Kenny and her colleagues for their views in that regard. There are two theatres in Cork University Maternity Hospital, but I understand only one is open and four days a week. As such, it is operating at a sub-optimal level. I ask for the perspective of Professor Kenny of how this is impacting on services and whether, if the two theatres were operating at the optimum level, that would be the best use of resources.