Deirdre Clune TD criticised the Minister for Health and the HSE for allowing a situation develop where geography now dictates an orthopaedic patient’s care. The Cork Fine Gael TD was speaking after the HSE released figures revealing the number of orthopaedic surgeons employed in HSE areas as against the populations of those areas.

The HSE confirmed to me that in the HSE South they have one Orthopaedic Surgeon (whole time equivalent) for every 57,962 people based on the 2006 population census. In response to a parliamentary question I raised with Minister for Health the HSE revealed that the average national figure was one orthopaedic surgeon (whole time equivalent) per 49,485.

The differences in some areas are stark and raise concerns that in some cases the quality of the health care service an orthopaedic patient receives may depend more upon geography than anything else. In the HSE West area there are over 24 posts for a population of 1,010,690 while in the HSE South, which includes Cork & Kerry, there are less than 19 posts for a population of 1,080,999.

There is a need for the Minister for Health and the senior management of the HSE to review discrepancies such as these and tackle them without delay. It is unfair to patients and front line medical staff that situations are allowed to develop where patients are put on waiting lists until they can see under resourced front line staff.