Seán Power (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)

I thank Senator O'Meara for raising this matter on the Adjournment. I will respond to it on behalf of my colleague, the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney.

The Health Service Executive is responsible for the provision of acute hospital services at Croom Orthopaedic Hospital. Having made inquiries of the HSE, the Department of Health and Children has been informed that all general practitioner referrals for orthopaedic consultants are currently placed on Croom Orthopaedic Hospital's outpatient waiting list. If a GP referral indicates that an appointment is urgent, it is reviewed by the consultant orthopaedic surgeon. If the referral letter does not make reference to the degree of urgency, the referral is assigned an appointment based on the available time slots. Referrals marked for the attention of a particular consultant orthopaedic surgeon are reviewed by the consultant and prioritised for assessment. Every effort is made to see urgent referrals on a timely basis. There are six orthopaedic surgeon posts in the mid-west, one of which is currently vacant pending the filling of it on a permanent basis by the Public Appointments Commission.

The HSE has initiated an independent external review of all acute hospital services in the mid-west, to ascertain how they can be developed in accordance with best practice. The review will be completed by the end of the year, following which its findings will be published. The process of appointing consultants to conduct the review is about to commence. The consultants will be asked to consider and make recommendations on the options for reconfiguring and redesigning services, to identify the elements of health care which can be most effectively delivered at each site and to set out what needs to be done to achieve this goal. The report will allow the HSE in the mid-west to define more clearly the level at which services should be planned, give examples of how they should be provided at and across each acute hospital site and offer some practical guidance to management and clinical personnel. I emphasise the Government's commitment to the continued development of services at Croom Orthopaedic Hospital and the continued provision of high quality and safe acute hospital services to the people of north Tipperary and the mid-west.

The National Treatment Purchase Fund is a health strategy initiative, the task of which is to achieve reductions in waiting times and, in particular, to offer treatment to patients who have been waiting longest. It has made significant progress in reducing waiting lists and waiting times since it was established in April 2002. Patients are now waiting between two and five months for the most common surgical procedures. Over 43,000 patients have had treatment arranged under the fund to date. Those waiting for more than three months will be facilitated by the fund in most instances. Some 470 patients from the mid-west region received treatment under the fund in 2005. At the Tánaiste's request, the fund established a number of outpatient pilot projects throughout the country in 2005. Over 4,400 patients received outpatient consultations in private hospitals as a result. As the fund is expanding the outpatient initiative in 2006, it has asked for proposals from hospitals in this regard.

I have been informed that the mid-west region of the HSE will be commencing referrals for outpatient appointments for patients waiting for assessment or surgery at Croom Orthopaedic Hospital. I understand that up to 150 patients who are waiting for outpatient appointments at the hospital are being referred to the Bon Secours Hospital in Cork. If Senator O'Meara wants to pass on the details of the cases she has raised, I will be more than happy to follow them up with the HSE.