Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As the Taoiseach is aware, obesity is a major issue affecting children and adults across the western world. It requires a societal response and full range of interventions. I propose to focus on those who are morbidly obese, particular morbidly obese public patients who need urgent intervention in the form of bariatric surgery. Clinicians have stated that morbidly obese people need this type of surgery to save their lives. The Minister for Health, Deputy James Reilly, has rejected calls by Professor Donal O'Shea of St. Vincent's University Hospital to restore bariatric surgery to the hospital. Only 20 operations have been carried out at the hospital this year and it does not have funding to perform any more life-saving operations. The 200 people on the waiting list for bariatric services at the hospital have been clinically assessed and the course of action designed for them by clinicians is to have this form of life-saving surgery carried out.

The Minister has been dismissive of the calls for the restoration of this surgery. The Minister stated that prevention is better than cure. He also stated that in its wisdom, St. Vincent's decided to perform the 20 operations in the first five months of the year. I do not know whether it occurred to the Minister that this decision by the hospital was made not merely "in its wisdom". Clinically, it decided it wanted to save lives and perform those 20 operations. It needs to perform more of them.

This is a callous and dismissive response to a serious issue for those patients involved. It is not good enough to say, as the Minister is saying, that it is tough on a patient that he or she is now morbidly obese, he cannot and will not do anything for the patient, and the next operation will be in 2015. The simple question I have to put to the Taoiseach is how many lives have to be lost before the Government will get the message, intervene and do what is right in terms of the prioritisation of life over death.

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