Seán Kenny (Dublin North East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this matter for discussion in the Topical Issue debate. I also thank the Minister for coming into the House to reply to it.

I am raising this issue on behalf of a constituent, Mr. Paddy Mooney, with his consent. He is in his late 70s and on a waiting list for a knee replacement operation at Cappagh hospital since earlier this year. He contacted my office in September and his case illustrates those of many others who have been awaiting hip and knee joint replacement surgery at Cappagh hospital for some time.

I wrote to Cappagh hospital at my constituent's request to find out when he could expect to have the knee replacement procedure carried out. I received the following reply which I will read with the consent of my constituent and the consultant orthopaedic surgeon who wrote it. It is addressed to me and from the department of trauma and orthopaedic surgery, Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown. It reads:

Dear Mr. Kenny,

Mr. Mooney urgently needs to have a knee replacement at Cappagh hospital. Unfortunately, due to Government policy the financial situation at Cappagh orthopaedic hospital is dire. I am not allowed to do the amount of work that I would like to do, and in fact Cappagh hospital is severely restricted in the amount of operations it can do. In Cappagh we have seven operating theatres. Currently, only two of these operating theatres work per day and, usually only for half a day. Cappagh hospital is functioning to about 15% to 20% of its capacity.

If you can arrange through your contacts in government to alleviate this situation, I would be glad to be able to get Mr. Mooney's operation done much quicker. Currently, there are over 200 patients on my waiting list for joint replacement surgery, meaning that my waiting list is well over a year.

Yours Sincerely,

Mr. Paddy Kenny, consultant orthopaedic surgeon.

I subsequently spoke by telephone to Mr. Kenny who reaffirmed the contents of his letter. He later took part in a radio programme, "Liveline" with Joe Duffy, on 10October. On air, he described the situation at Cappagh hospital, where on a day-to-day basis usually only two of the seven operating theatres were in use, although he maintained there were enough consultants available to ensure all seven could be fully utilised. He went on to say 24 orthopaedic surgeons were available in the hospital but asserted that owing to a lack of finance sufficient nursing staff were not available to operate all seven operating theatres on a daily basis. He added that hip and knee implants cost on average between €1,800 and €2,000 per implant. He further stated he personally could carry out four to five implant procedures per day if he had the resources to do so and added that he had 198 patients on his waiting list and that the waiting time was 15 months.

A number of listeners telephoned the programme on the day to describe their situation and the level of pain they were enduring while awaiting a hip or knee operation. I have personal experience, as I had to undergo a knee replacement operation some years ago. Accordingly, I can empathise with others in the same position. I was lucky enough to have health insurance and able to have the procedure carried out within a couple of months. I can only imagine the pain a person must endure if they have to wait for 15 months.

I understand the HSE service plan for 2015 was launched today. I will be pleased to learn from the Minister if the situation at Cappagh hospital will be addressed in 2015.

See this speech in context