Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Swanick for raising this issue and giving me the opportunity to provide an update to the House on the matter. I will address some of the Senator's specific queries with him directly.

Improving access to scoliosis services for patients is a priority for the Minister for Health, the Government and the HSE this year. The Senator will be aware that the HSE, working with the Children’s hospital group and the Department of Health, developed a scoliosis waiting list action plan which was finalised and published in May of this year. In tandem, the HSE is working to develop a long-term sustainable solution for scoliosis and paediatric orthopaedic cases.

The number of patients on each of the waiting list categories is being taken into account in planning future service requirements. The Minister is aware of particular concerns raised in regard to adolescent patients waiting for scoliosis surgery in Tallaght hospital. The HSE has included this cohort of patients in the scoliosis waiting list update and service development plan which sets out a short to medium-term strategy to ensure no patient will have had to wait more than four months for surgery by the end of the year, where that is appropriate clinically.

The HSE has informed the Department of Health that a process is under way for the transition of adolescent scoliosis patients from Tallaght to the Mater hospital. This has commenced, with 16 patients transferred currently. Further patients are being clinically reviewed in Tallaght with a view to transferring to the Mater. It is envisaged that a similar process will be undertaken for OPD patients and that the patients overall will remain in the care of the Mater as part of a longer-term solution for patients with scoliosis.

In respect of spinal services at Tallaght, the hospital is the principal provider of elective orthopaedics in the Dublin Midlands hospital group. The hospital’s spinal orthopaedic service provides emergency and elective access for a varying degree of acute degenerative and scoliosis spinal conditions with a tertiary referral base. It is acknowledged that spinal orthopaedic activity levels at Tallaght Hospital have fallen in recent years. There has been a reduction in consultant staffing numbers in this sub-specialty area due to consultant departures and difficulty in recruiting replacements.

However, I understand from the HSE that approval has been given by the Dublin Midlands hospital group for an additional consultant, and a new consultant is due to start following completion of his fellowship in September 2017. While the hospital currently has constraints around in-house activity, approval has also been given by the HSE for an initiative to provide an inpatient and day case spinal service in a private facility with a Tallaght Hospital spinal orthopaedic consultant, as part of its public contract, accessing facilities in the private sector to reduce waiting lists.

In addition, the reconfiguration of theatres at Tallaght hospital is being reviewed to facilitate the creation of a spinal theatre available for spinal procedures. I am confident that this range of actions will improve access to scoliosis services for patients. I will answer some of the Senator's queries in my response.