A 12-year-old Tipperary boy with a nasal problem which gives him difficulty breathing has been on a hospital consultant's waiting list since March 1996.
Kieran Flanagan, of Mountain View, Carrick-on-Suir, was seven when his local doctor sought an appointment with a consultant at Waterford Regional Hospital to diagnose the cause of his problem.
His mother, Kathleen, said she had called the hospital on numerous occasions but still had no indication of when her son would be seen. It was possible that adenoids, a blockage caused by enlarged lymphatic tissue, or sinusitis was the cause of Kieran's breathing difficulties. Mr Brian O'Shea, a Waterford Labour TD, tabled a Dail question on the issue last Friday.
Ms Flanagan has two other children, aged 16 and two, and receives lone parent's allowance of £131 a week. She felt it was "scandalous" that someone who couldn't afford to pay for private healthcare had to wait for so long for an appointment.
"I'm disgusted with the situation, absolutely disgusted. If I could afford to go private Kieran would be seen in a fortnight," she said.
Her son, she said, was unable to breathe through his nose and woke up every night "gasping, because his mouth is so dry. We don't think he will need an operation, but first he has to be seen before we even get to the stage of having something done. To have to wait this long is diabolical."
In a letter to Mr O'Shea last June, the hospital said Kieran was No 150 on the list to be seen by the relevant consultant, but it was not in a position to say when he was likely to have an appointment. In an earlier letter it indicated he might be seen this October.
A spokeswoman for the South Eastern Health Board said a fourth ENT (ear, nose and throat) specialist was about to be recruited by the hospital, which should reduce the waiting list.
The board was unhappy, she said, that people were forced to wait so long for appointments, which was why it was putting these measures in place. "We do understand patients' frustrations and we're doing as much as possible to address the situation," she said.
