Over 200 people in chronic pain on waiting list for nerve conduction clinic at Portiuncula Hospital- Murphy

Fianna Fáil TD for Roscommon/Galway Eugene Murphy has highlighted the fact that over 200 people are currently on a waiting list for a nerve conduction clinic in Portiuncula Hospital, Ballinasloe.Deputy Murphy obtained the figures through a recent parliamentary question to the Minister for Health when he queried the number of patients waiting for neurophysiology appointments at Portiuncula Hospital.
“There are currently a total of 238 people on a waiting list for this nerve conduction clinic in Portiuncula Hospital and many of these people are in chronic debilitating pain for a considerable length of time. Over a quarter of 26% have been waiting for six to nine months while some 16% have been waiting between nine months and one year while 20 patients or 8% have been waiting between one year and 15 months which is simply not acceptable.
“I understand that this clinic is only operated on a monthly basis in Portiuncula Hospital by a visiting consultant clinical neurophysiologist and there is a significant waiting list to access this specialist service. The HSE has also indicated that they are carrying out a validation of this waiting list. It is simply not good enough to have over 200 people being left in pain and waiting for a neurophysiology appointment and it is once again unfortunately systematic of our failing health service. I am calling on the Minister to examine the possibility of providing this clinic on a fortnightly basis in a bid to clear this back log of patients,” concluded Deputy Murphy.

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