Séamus Healy (Tipperary South, Workers and Unemployed Action Group) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the response from the Minister but he has only dealt with in-patient services. My question deals with both inpatient and outpatient services. The point of my question is the outpatient services. Nearly every day, parents contact me about the waiting lists for outpatient clinics at the hospital. I am informed by parents that an urgent case may have to wait for 18 months for outpatient ENT services. A number of parents have contacted me about the ear and hearing clinic waiting times. There is a significant waiting list for outpatient clinics. There appears to be a significant delay and I ask the Minister of examine that whole area.

In the case of children, for example, there is a particular urgency attached to diagnosis and treatment of hearing problems. Otherwise, there may well be a significant situation in terms of progress at school or preschool. In the case of tonsillitis, a failure to access treatment in a timely fashion may impinge on school attendance. Will the Minister refer specifically in his response to the statistics on access to outpatient clinics?

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