Over 160 patients waiting for vital brain op

More than 160 seriously ill patients are being forced to wait over six months for vital brain surgery — at a time when Ireland is hosting a major conference on how to prioritise the service.

The extent of the waiting list was revealed by a leading patient group as Ireland hosts an EU-wide policy meeting on how to help improve neurological care.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner, Neurological Alliance of Ireland spokeswoman Mags Rogers said official HSE figures show 164 patients — suffering from a range of serious conditions — are being forced to wait more than half a year before undergoing brain surgery.

The lengthy delays at the two neurological centres of excellence, Beaumont and Cork University Hospital, are a result of an historic lack of funding and a shortage of consultants.

In addition to the six month-plus delays, the alliance said a further 288 brain surgery patients are waiting between one and six months for vital care, while more than 1,000 people are waiting over four years for outpatient neurology consultant appointments.

The patient group said the difficulties are only likely to get worse because the Department of Health has yet to publish an implementation plan for its 2011-2015 document on how to reform the service, 18 months after promising to do so.

Hitting out at the lack of focus, the alliance said it is “deeply ironic” the issue is still failing to be prioritised at a time when Ireland is hosting a major EU policy conference on how to improve — and prioritise — the service across Europe.

“The Irish Government commitment to neurological care has historically been very poor,” said Ms Rogers. “We have the lowest number of consultant neurologists and rehabilitation consultants in Europe, only one in six people who need it are receiving post-care therapy. Neuro-surgery waiting lists are also something we are very concerned about, so it really is deeply ironic Ireland is holding this conference.

“We [the NAI] have had no involvement in this conference, but we have been asking about what has been happening with the national policy on neuro-rehabilitation services.

“An implementation timetable for that has been delayed for 18 months. We wrote to mental health minister Kathleen Lynch about it last week but have heard nothing back,” she said.

The department said the decision by the EU presidency to host the two-day international conference, which ends today, is part of a strategy to draw up “complementary strategies” between countries to help tackle the issue.

The event is the concluding part of the European Month of the Brain, which the department described as “an initiative to showcase achievements in brain research to date, raise awareness of brain disorders and encourage EU countries to co-ordinate and optimise resources allocated to brain research and healthcare”.

According to the conference, more than 700,000 Irish people are suffering from some form of brain disorder, ranging from cancerous tumours to strokes, acquired brain injuries, and Alzheimer’s.

The conditions cost the EU economy as much as €800bn a year.