John Halligan (Waterford, Independent)
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3. To ask the Minister for Health if he will confirm for the people of County Waterford and the south east the reason access to prostate cancer services at University Hospital Waterford is significantly below the national average, with only 16.7% of attendees seen within the target of 20 working days in January 2015; if any man has been sent to a private hospital to cope with this backlog; if he is aware that 50% of new attendees at the hospital's prostate clinic had a subsequent diagnosis of prostate cancer in February 2015; if the promised additional consultant urologist appointments for the hospital have been filled to address capacity issues in the hospital; if not, when they will be filled; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20884/15]

John Halligan (Waterford, Independent)
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Why is the level of access to prostate cancer services at University Hospital Waterford significantly below the national average, with only 16.7% of attendees seen within the target of 20 working days in January 2015? Has any man been sent to a private hospital to cope with the backlog? I draw the Minister's attention to the fact that 50% of new attendees at the prostate clinic in University Hospital Waterford received a subsequent diagnosis of prostate cancer in February.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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University Hospital Waterford has experienced problems in recent months in achieving the target set by the National Cancer Control Programme for rapid access to prostate clinics. The target is that 90% of patients be seen within 20 days of receipt of a referral.

A number of actions have been taken by the hospital to improve the timelines of access for patients to prostate cancer services. These have included the referral of 37 new patients to St. Vincent's University Hospital in Dublin in February and the referral of 47 new patients to the Mater Private Hospital in November 2014.

Additional consultant urologists are required in University Hospital Waterford and the hospital has prioritised these appointments. One new consultant urologist commenced work in April and a second is due to commence work next month. When both consultants are in place, University Hospital Waterford will be better positioned to achieve the national access standards for prostate cancer services.

In February 2015 there were 24 new attendances at Waterford’s prostate clinic and, of these, four patients or 17% not 50%, have had a diagnosis of primary prostate cancer. In total in February, 12 patients received a prostate cancer diagnosis but it is important to say that some of these were not new attendances and they were not seen for the first time in February.

In conclusion, the development of prostate cancer services in Waterford has been identified as a priority and because of that significant service enhancements are now under way and the private sector is being used in the interim.

John Halligan (Waterford, Independent)
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In the first few months of this year only one in every six men with potential symptoms of prostate cancer were referred to the prostate clinic in Waterford. Only one in eight men nationally were seen within the recommended deadline of 20 days of referral. The clinic is supposed to provide rapid access yet delays in filling staffing shortages in Waterford University Hospital have resulted in the longest delays. That is very worrying because according to the HSE's own figures, half of the men referred to the Waterford clinic were subsequently diagnosed with prostate cancer. I do not need to remind the Minister that early diagnosis is key to the survival rate of patients with prostate cancer.

We were promised additional consultant urologists. Could the Minister confirm whether he said a urologist who was appointed in April is now working in Waterford and that ancillary staff are in place?

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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It is a side point but it is important to get the facts right, in particular if some of this is going to be covered in local media. Approximately one in six new patients are diagnosed with cancer on referral, not half. What Deputy Halligan is including there are people who were already diagnosed previously and are returning to clinics.

John Halligan (Waterford, Independent)
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I accept that.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I wish to be clear on that. It is not that half of people referred have prostate cancer. That would never be the case for a cancer clinic.

What has happened is University Hospital Waterford needed more staff and it was hard to get the staff. The private sector has had to be used in the interim and will be used if needs be. I do not like doing that but I have no qualms doing it if it is necessary for patients to get timely treatment. Recruitment for consultants is difficult. Deputy Halligan will know that the socialist high tax, low pay policies he supports would make it much harder to recruit the necessary staff. If he honestly believes that it would be easier to recruit consultants to Waterford by increasing income tax on those who are well paid, he does not have the interests of his constituents at heart.

John Halligan (Waterford, Independent)
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I wish to make two interesting points. First, internationally, Ireland ranks among the lowest in Europe for urologists per capita. A recent European survey stated that there were only 23 urologists in Ireland representing a rate of 3.2 specialists per 100,000 males aged 40 and over. In Spain, the rate is 19 specialists per 100,000 of similarly aged males.

Hospital workers told me during the week that we could double the amount of urologists in Waterford and we would still not have enough to address the referrals. Does the Minister acknowledge that? I also understand that many patients who were on elective urology waiting lists had appointments cancelled because we simply did not have additional beds or theatre space. That has nothing to do with the cost of appointing a urologist. I am telling the Minister what staff in the hospital told me. Anytime I am in the hospital I speak to consultants and others about the relevant issues. They told me that the prime concerns are space, beds and ancillary staff. Therefore, even if we were to appoint urologists we do not have the facilities in place.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I said we appointed one urologist already and another will start next month. In view of the growing population and the fact that there will be more older men every year for the next 20 years or 30 years - I will get there at some point - we will need to increase the number of urologists every year. It may well be the case that we need to double the number of urologists in the next five to ten years. It is not an easy thing to do. It costs money. We need to be competitive with other jurisdictions such as the United Kingdom, Canada and America, which is the reason it is important that people do not vote for candidates who would impose high taxes on people who we are trying to recruit back home. That is why it is very much in the interests of people in Waterford who may have a cancer diagnosis that they do not vote for Deputy Halligan's politics at the next election. That is very important. It is not just consultants who are hard to recruit, we are also having difficulty recruiting theatre nurses. There is theatre space in Waterford but it is difficult to recruit theatre nurses as well. We are embarking on a campaign overseas and in the UK over the summer to try to improve the situation.

John Halligan (Waterford, Independent)
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All I can say to the Minister is that he is completely out of touch with how people feel about hospital services in Waterford.