Outpatient waiting times
Blaney complained of excessive outpatient waits, including delays of up to four hours, and called them inefficiency. Haughey said he was working to reduce waits and improve comfort, but argued that some delays were unavoidable; the exchange also included brief music-related banter.
Could I ask the Minister, apart from the absence of desire for the introduction of entertainment by way of piped music, would he not agree that it is much more necessary to try to ensure that the waiting time for all these people would be reduced to a minimum instead of being disgracefully long drawn out?
Comment on this
That is what we have been working at for the last 12 months. We have been trying to improve the situation in that regard. As I mentioned, one of the things I wish to do is to provide refreshments in tea bars and snack bars for the people who have to wait these long periods of time. It would be eminently desirable if we could have people in out-patients' departments dealt with immediately but that is not possible. There are inherent in this situation difficulties which almost inevitably involve some people in having to wait.
Comment on this
I know the Minister does not like to be lectured but I am telling him there is up to four hours wait in some of his institutions and that is not excusable.
Comment on this
It is excusable in certain circumstances. I want to explain that one of the first things to which I directed my attention on becoming Minister for Health was the very unsatisfactory conditions in out-patients' departments because I have personal experience of them, particularly in Dublin hospitals, and I set out to see what could possibly be done to reduce the waiting time, to facilitate people, to make them more comfortable while they are there and to reassure them while they are waiting to be seen and looked after. I have been working consistently on this for 12 months and among other things we have provided, in practically all of the major centres, very considerably improved facilities for out-patients. It is a top priority of mine and I resent Deputy Blaney's suggestion that I am not doing anything about it.
Comment on this
I did not say that. What I said was that there is inefficiency in this regard. I did not say there was inefficiency on the Minister's part.
