Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)

I understand Deputy Ring's frustration and feel it is a disgrace that, with one Minister and four Ministers of State, no representative of the Department of Health and Children could attend this evening to listen to the matters raised on the adjournment by Deputy Ring and me. It makes a farce of the Adjournment debate, though I mean no disrespect to the Minister of State, Deputy Haughey.

Yesterday evening three consultant surgeons in Kerry General Hospital took the unprecedented measure of inviting all Oireachtas representatives of Kerry to a meeting at the hospital to discuss its future. They are concerned at the future of the provision of cancer treatment at the hospital and wonder what will happen as a result of the creation of a centre of excellence in Cork. They referred to the need for an endoscopy unit, a high dependency unit, staff for the day care ward, a maternity ward and orthopaedic services at the hospital. I am glad to have the opportunity this evening to outline the lack of orthopaedic services in Kerry General Hospital.

The outpatient waiting list at the moment for orthopaedic procedures at Kerry General Hospital consists of around 600 adults. Some 200 have been waiting more than two years and 300 more than 12 months. I do not believe there is another part of the country with such a long waiting list. The inpatient waiting list is shorter and around 46 people have been waiting more than three months. A reason is that consultants use the treatment purchase fund to send patients to other hospitals for procedures.

Many people have problems with their knees, especially the elderly, but knee replacement procedures are not done at the hospital. Operations on patients on the trauma list, that is, patients with broken bones, can only be carried out on Fridays. If one breaks a bone in one's leg or finger one must, generally, wait until Friday to be operated on. The trauma list should be dealt with every day, as in most hospitals, and a person who breaks a leg or hand should be operated on immediately.

Patients with broken bones require rapid assessment and treatment by an orthopaedic surgeon and anaesthetist. Early discharge to a comfortable environment with adequate rehabilitation facilities is also vital. Unfortunately, this level of back-up is not available and patients are generally discharged into mixed wards.

There is an urgent requirement for a daily trauma operating theatre list with adequate radiographic back-up. Only one radiographer is on call out of hours, including the weekend. There should be at least two. There is also an immediate requirement for a dedicated ward space, including a day ward facility, so that minor injuries such as finger and wrist fractures can be treated on a one-day basis.

The population of Kerry almost doubles during the summer because of the influx of tourists. Many of these tourists engage in activities such as horse riding, hill walking and rock climbing, which can result in accidents. Thus, Kerry General Hospital is under significant pressure to provide services not only for the local population but also for visitors. The resources are simply not available. I understand members of the HSE review issues that are raised in the House. I call on them to do what is necessary to make Kerry General Hospital a centre of excellence in orthopaedic services.

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