Kathleen O'Meara (Labour)

I appreciate the Cathaoirleach's decision to allow me to raise this important matter on the Adjournment. I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Seán Power, for coming to the House to respond to the points I will make.

I imagine that the Cathaoirleach is familiar with the location of Croom Orthopaedic Hospital. I would like to highlight the problems faced by two people from Nenagh who have come to see me to discuss their problems. They have been told by their general practitioners, to whom I have spoken, that they will have to wait two and a half years before they get an appointment for their complaints to be examined at Croom Orthopaedic Hospital. I saw one of the people to whom I refer in Nenagh this morning, before I travelled to Dublin. He is losing weight at such a rate that he will turn into a skeleton shortly. The great pain he is suffering in his back means he cannot go up and down the stairs in his house, even though the bathroom is upstairs. He is totally miserable because he is suffering severe pain. I find it extraordinary that he has been told that nothing can be done about the two and a half year waiting list.

Having done some investigations, I have found out that no clinics from Croom Orthopaedic Hospital have taken place in Nenagh since last February, even though Nenagh is supposed to benefit from a clinic rotation whereby orthopaedic services are provided there every fifth Monday. However, that system is not currently operating because of a shortage of consultants.

I understand some changes were made to the relevant rota following the retirement of a consultant, who presumably has not been replaced. It seems the matter is under review, although I hope the Minister of State will say a little more than that in his response. It is extraordinary that public patients have been told by their GPs, who are equally highly frustrated by the current problems, that they will have to wait for two and a half years.

The second case with which I am familiar relates to a man who is not old, but is of advancing years. He is starting to wonder whether his complaint will ever be assessed and dealt with. It would be a very different matter if the people in question were private patients. I thought we had made a commitment to equality of treatment, but that is clearly not the case in this instance. It is nothing short of a scandal that patients in the public system have to wait for two and a half years to get an appointment. It is simply not acceptable. I hope the Minister of State will not just tell me that the matter has been raised, that it is under review and that something may happen in the near or distant future. I look forward to the Minister of State's response.

I appreciate the Cathaoirleach's agreement to allow me to raise this matter. As we are aware, in recent times matters relating to the Health Service Executive or health in general have been kicked forward, which has been very unsatisfactory for public representatives. The HSE knows about this unacceptable situation because we all raised it with its representatives last Wednesday week.