Written answers

Tuesday, 26 June 2018

Department of Health

Hospital Waiting Lists

Photo of Louise O'ReillyLouise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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397. To ask the Minister for Health the reason scoliosis four month surgery wait targets are not being met; the barriers for same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27886/18]

Photo of Simon HarrisSimon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The long-term strategy to develop sustainable scoliosis services from 2018 has been prioritised by my Department and the HSE in the 2018 HSE National Service Plan. An additional €9 million has been provided to the HSE in 2018 specifically to develop paediatric orthopaedic services, including further increasing access to scoliosis services. The Children's Hospital Group committed to a two-year service development plan to implement an orthopaedic service that provides timely access for Outpatient and In-Patient services. The HSE has confirmed that as part of this plan it will maintain the 4-month target in 2018 and beyond, which is international best practice, for all patients who are clinically deemed to require surgery now.

CHG has advised that consultants clinically prioritise patients for surgery on the waiting list. There is a desire and a requirement to facilitate timely surgery. This will be enabled with the increased investment in the service in 2018, aimed at stabilising and expanding the current capacity, to meet the demand for timely scoliosis treatment.

Furthermore, two new consultant posts for paediatric orthopaedics have been provided in the HSE 2018 National Service Plan. The two new posts are currently being processed through the Consultant Appointment Approval Committee process and are expected to be appointed in quarter 4 of 2018. These posts are allocated to Our Lady's Children's Hospital Crumlin and Temple Street Children’s University Hospital for paediatric orthopaedics and are expected to have a positive impact on current patient waiting times.

CHG advises that, in order to achieve its targets for surgery this year, there will be additional activity across the hospitals over the summer months, as the scheduling of spinal surgery for patients in this age group is frequently dependent on the timetabling of exams in the first half of the year.

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