CAPPAGH HOSPITAL WAITING LISTS FOR HIP AND KNEE REPLACEMENTS NEED TO BE DEALT WITH SWIFTLY - KENNY

Posted on November 27, 2014 6:08 PM   |   Permanent Link   

Dublin Bay North Labour TD has raised the issue of waiting lists for hip and knee replacements at Cappagh Hospital.

"I raised this issue on behalf of a constituent of mine, who is in his late seventies and has been on the waiting list at Cappagh Hospital since earlier this year. He first contacted me in September of last year and I believe that his case illustrates that of many others who are waiting for hip and knee joint replacement surgery at Cappagh hospital for a long period."

"I have written to Cappagh Hospital seeking to find out when my constituent could expect to have the knee replacement procedure carried out and received the following reply which I read into the record of the house with the consent of my constituent and the consultant orthopaedic surgeon involved. I subsequently spoke by telephone with the consultant and he re-affirmed to me the contents of his letter. Mr. Paddy Kenny took part in the Radio programme the Joe Duffy Show on 10th October last."

"On air he described the situation at Cappagh Hospital where on a day to day basis usually only 2 out of the 7 operating theatres were in use although he maintained that there enough consultants available to ensure that all of the 7 theatres were fully utilised and went on to say that there was 24 orthopaedic surgeons available. He asserted that there was not sufficient nursing staff available to operate all 7 operating theatres on a daily basis and that this was down to lack of finance. He also added that hip and knee implants cost on average between €1800 and €2000 per implant. Mr. Paddy Kenny further stated that he personally could carry out from 4 to 5 implant procedures per day, if he had the resources to do so. He added that he had 198 patients on his waiting list and that the waiting time was now 15 months."

"A number of listeners phoned in to the programme on that date to describe the level of pain that they were enduring while they were waiting for a hip or knee operation. I have personal experience of this, having had to undergo a knee replacement a few years ago; I can empathise with anybody in this situation. I was lucky enough to have health insurance and I was able to have the procedure carried out in a couple of months. I can imagine what pain a person could endure if they were waiting for 15 months."

"I understand that Cappagh is currently operating at 15 to 20 per cent of its capacity. This situation is not acceptable, and the Minister for Health, Leo Varadkar, has said to me in the Dail that that the HSE Service Plan will cater for more day cases to be seen at Cappagh and as well as a modest increase in budget to allow for a small increase in more advanced cases. But a lot more needs to be done - the demand by older people for orthopaedic services is huge and will keep growing."