Three-year wait to see a consultant about back pain

A Waterford woman suffering from severe back pain since last May has been told it will be three years before she is seen by a consultant.

Ms Catherine McCarthy (58), Ballybeg Close, has been prescribed sleeping tablets and painkillers to help with her condition. She presented herself recently to the accident and emergency unit at Waterford Regional Hospital but was referred back to her physiotherapist.

Her treatment has been described as "so unfeeling it's mind-boggling" by a local Labour TD, Mr Brian O'Shea, who has tabled a Dail question for the Minister for Health.

In a letter to Mr O'Shea last week, the hospital's acting patient services officer, Ms Norann Phelan, said Ms McCarthy was on a waiting list "and will not be seen for approximately three years". She added that Ms McCarthy's general practitioner should contact the relevant consultant, Mr John Corrigan, directly if he felt a more urgent appointment was necessary.

Ms McCarthy said yesterday her GP had written six letters to the hospital in the past year.

A spokeswoman for the South Eastern Health Board said Ms McCarthy's case was not an emergency, and there was a three-year waiting list for routine cases. The board was not happy about this, and extra staff had been recruited to deal with the problem.

Ms McCarthy, who is a medical-card holder, said her condition is causing severe hardship. "It's a 24-hour pain. I'm just trying to cope with it. Sometimes I lie on the floor and sometimes on the couch, anywhere I can find a position to take the pain away," she said.

Her husband, John, is unable to assist her as he suffered a stroke nearly three years ago.

The health board spokeswoman said extra staff had been recruited for a "back pain school" which would be in place before the autumn.