Hospital waiting lists

There are currently 3,812 pending eye operations at St Luke's Hospital, information given in Parliament yesterday shows.

Health Minister Louis Deguara said urgent cases are treated within six months, less urgent cases within a year and routine cases in between two-and-a-half and three years.

Replying to a question by Labour MP Adrian Vassallo the minister said the waiting time for catarect operations varied according to the consultant.

He said there are 293 pending hip replacement operations and 983 knee replacement operations. These figures did not include urgent operations.

The minister said that the waiting time for these operations was between two and four years depending on the consultant and the patient's medical circumstances such as obesity and other illnesses.

There were 396 people on the waiting list for hernia operations. Waiting time was between two weeks and two years, also depending on the consultant and the patient's medical circumstances.