Frank O'Rourke (Kildare North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am grateful for the opportunity to raise this matter. Two weeks ago a surgeon requested to meet me and my colleagues, Deputies Lahart and Troy, regarding his concern for his patients due to the current unacceptable delays in adult spinal surgery at Tallaght Hospital. Grave concerns exist regarding the growing outpatient waiting list and there is currently no dedicated spinal theatre in Tallaght. While five surgeons are attached to Tallaght, three are jointly appointed to Crumlin children's hospital, one is working half-time on a temporary basis and one is a recent appointee. I met the consultant who carries out spinal surgery as a result of the seriousness of the issue and the impact it is having.

Tallaght Hospital currently services hospitals such as Naas, in my constituency of Kildare North, Tullamore, Portlaoise and St. James's, among others. It is a wide catchment area, given that my constituency has a population in excess of 100,000 people. As far as I am aware, the only hospitals that have theatres equipped to carry out spinal surgery and are dedicated as such are Beaumont Hospital and Cork University Hospital.

In response to the front-line staff - the surgeons and all of their teams - and the patients on these excessive waiting lists, can the Minister and the Department give a commitment that they will invest in one, and ideally two, spinal surgery theatres in Tallaght and provide the required staff?

I am told the cost of a theatre is approximately €4 million and the cost of staffing to carry out operations adequately is approximately €300,000 per annum. Those are the figures I have been given but the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, may correct me on them. I am being told there is now an urgent requirement to have one theatre but that, given the waiting list, the service would operate very effectively and efficiently with two.

Statistically, our population is ageing. The demands for spinal surgery will increase as the population ages and the service will become more critical. Therefore, it is imperative to have in place the necessary infrastructure, such as the dedicated theatres.

The total number of patients currently on the waiting list for outpatient surgery in Tallaght is approximately 412. One hundred and ninety of those are waiting for between 12 and 24 months. One hundred and seven are waiting for between six and 12 months. The lists are becoming longer all the time, for the reasons we have outlined. This is because the facilities are not in place. The service is covering such a wide catchment that it is just not able to keep up and deal with the number of people referred to it for various types of surgery.

The adult waiting list to see a spinal consultant is currently in excess of 400. Most of these people will need surgery. The spinal surgeon I met made this known to me purely out of concern for his patients. The waiting lists are getting completely out of control, with no end in sight. The surgeon said the target waiting time for urgent cases is approximately one to two months, but the actual waiting time is 13 months. For a routine procedure, the next available appointment is the target, but the actual waiting time is in excess of 23 months. Currently, there are 93 patients awaiting urgent surgery. It is very important to address this and I would appreciate the feedback of the Minister of State on ascertaining how this issue can be dealt with. It is important that the Department takes this on board and consider an investment plan and policy so we can deal with this issue.

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