James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)

There has been no reduction in 2012 in the number of scheduled outpatient clinics for the specialties referred to due to cost containment at Waterford Regional Hospital. I have circulated a table with the activity for the hospital for the first five months in 2011 and 2012. The current initiatives to address waiting times at the hospital are as follows: the existing patient administration system is being modified to facilitate reporting of patients waiting for an outpatient appointment to the National Treatment Purchase Fund from July 2012; all referrals are being uploaded to the patient administration system; and validation of the waiting list will commence once this upload is complete

I refer to regional dermatology services. In line with the Health Service Executive's southern area service plan for 2012, extra resources have been allocated to support the appointment of two additional consultant dermatologists to assist the existing single-handed consultant. One of these posts is a national cancer control programme, NCCP, post to assist primarily with the skin cancer workload. The second post is in the HSE's dermatology outpatient clinical programme.

The regional orthopaedic service provides the south-east trauma orthopaedic service based at Waterford Regional Hospital as well as the elective orthopaedic surgery service at Kilcreene Orthopaedic Hospital. There are 84 orthopaedic clinics held each month, of which 33 are trauma clinics. The majority of clinics are at Waterford Regional Hospital, with other monthly outpatient outreach clinics taking place throughout the region.

In line with the service plan for 2012, three additional physiotherapist posts have been allocated in line with the roll-out of the HSE's national musculoskeletal clinical programme. Two of the three appointees are now in their posts and it is anticipated this will result in approximately 1,000 appropriately selected patients being seen from the regional orthopaedics and regional rheumatology waiting lists.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House.

An internal initiative with nurse-led arthroscopy clinics is to commence, which is anticipated to reduce the orthopaedic waiting list by 500 patients annually. In addition, two other nurse-led clinic initiatives are due to commence - a glaucoma clinic and a macular degeneration clinic – both of which will assist with the provision of new clinic slots for patients requiring a consultant appointment. The fourth consultant post will be progressed once consultant appointment unit approval in place.

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