Private hospitals tackling waiting lists, says Varadkar

Health Minister Leo Varadkar has admitted that private hospitals are being used to reduce waiting lists.

As a last resort, patients will also be sent abroad for treatment, he added. A number of older children with scoliosis, an abnormal curvature of the spine, have already been treated overseas.

Mr Varadkar told a meeting of the Oireachtas Health Committee he was upset by the number of children having to wait for scoliosis operations. The HSE 2015 National Service Plan prioritises a reduction in waiting times for hospital care, with a focus on those waiting the longest. The HSE is finalising plans to ensure that a June target of nobody waiting longer than 18 months is achieved. The target for the year-end is 15 months.