Harney tells ‘under-utilised’ surgeon to talk to manager

HEALTH Minister Mary Harney said she could not accept that a surgeon could be left with nothing to do at a busy hospital.

She urged Peter O’Rourke, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Letterkenny General Hospital in Co Donegal, who claims he is being paid to do nothing, to talk to his manager and resolve the issue.

The Health Service Executive confirmed yesterday that very few joint replacement operations would be undertaken for a number of weeks with funding prioritised for critical areas like cancer, dialysis and responding to emergencies.