Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, United Left) | Oireachtas source

There were nine patients waiting for scoliosis operations in University Hospital Galway in May this year and only one had surgery. We are now told that there are 13 patients on the list and that three have had a surgery since. That is not acceptable. I know two people who do not mind me saying their names and in fact have asked me to do so. Aisling has a 70% curvature of her spine and has been on the waiting list since July 2014. She is still waiting for an operation. She says she can hardly breathe and that her organs are under a great deal of stress yet she is still waiting. What is happening there? These are two people I know. The other person is a young girl named Sophie who has an 80% curvature of her spine. I received a note from her mother the other day to say that Sophie has been prescribed anti-depressants and continues to worsen. For two weeks, she has been out of school where she is an honours student. She is still waiting for surgery. This is not acceptable. I expect that all the patients who have been on the list for longer than three or six months should be sent to other hospitals or, as the Minister said, to London or wherever the operation can be carried out. That is why I have asked the question. The consultant is available to do it.

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