§ Mr. Carter-Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what action is being taken by his Department to increase the numbers of qualified chiropodists in Northern Ireland; what need there is for the training of more chiropodists; and if he will make a statement;
(2) what is the cost to the area for which he is responsible, of inadequate chiropody services; what action is being taken to improve the service; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. AlisonA Northern Ireland school of chiropody was established at the College of Technology, Belfast, in September 1979 with an initial intake of 16 students, rising to 20 students annually this year. It is estimated that 128 chiropodists are required in Northern Ireland to meet the needs of the priority groups of the elderly, physically handicapped, diabetics, expectant mothers and schoolchildren. 61 whole time equivalent chiropodists are at present in post and the total cost of the community chiropody service was £454,000 for the financial year ended 31 March 1979.
Prior to the opening of the Northern Ireland school of chiropody students had to seek training places in Great Britain and many did not return on completion of their training. The provision of local training facilities will help to alleviate the shortage of trained chiropodists and lead to an improvement in the service. In the meantime health and social services boards are continuing to explore all possible means of encouraging recruitment to the service and of making the most effective use of existing resources.
§ Mr. Carter-Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the average waiting time for chiropody treatment in each area health authority; what ambulance services are needed for such treatment; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. AlisonTreatment is restricted to certain priority groups, namely,534W diabetics, the elderly, handicapped persons, expectant mothers and schoolchildren. Immediate treatment is available for all diabetic patients. In the other categories the average waiting time for treatment in the Southern health and social services board area is three months. Elsewhere it is six months except in the case of patients living in the Greater Belfast area where the waiting list has been temporarily suspended and in the rest of the eastern health and social services board area where the average waiting time is 12 months.
All authorised requests to transport patients by ambulance are carried out under normal Health Service arrangements.