Eamon Scanlon (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. Before the last general election, if one was to believe the newspapers, one would have thought that every hospital in the country was closing down. As a member of the North Western Health Board, I wish to put some facts before the House on the improvements that have taken place in the health board with which I am most familiar.

In 2001 the North Western Health Board received £283 million to run the service while in 2002 it received £322 million, an increase of £40 million in one health board area or €50 million. I recognise that there are waiting lists. However, if a person walks out of this House and is hit by a car, an ambulance will be at the scene in ten or 15 minutes. The person concerned will be taken to a hospital and looked after better than anywhere else in the world. While those with private insurance are receiving treatment, I admit that there are waiting lists.

In my health board area in 2000, 1,004 were waiting for ear, nose and throat treatment, but by July 2002 this figure had been reduced to 243. Some 76 people were waiting for gynaecological treatment, but by July 2002 this figure was down to 17. For orthopaedic treatment, the figure was 211 in December 2000 while in July 2002 it was 116. The orthodontic service is a problem all over the country because health boards cannot get orthodontists to do the work as they are not available. Some 400 people were on waiting lists in December 2001 but this figure had been reduced to 150 in July 2002. The health board has just received €282,000 under the private purchase scheme and I am told that another 100 people will be treated this year under the scheme.

Nine new consultants have been appointed in the last three years while one of the most modern oncology wards has been provided at Sligo General Hospital. I recently spoke to a man who suffers from cancer and is attending the ward, which has only been open for the past 12 months. Before that, he had to travel to Dublin to receive treatment which he can now have in Sligo. He is at home with his family and can continue to work, even though it is on a short-time basis. Two years ago this would not have been possible. It is a real improvement.