Referrals to Irish hospitals for male circumcisions on religious and cultural grounds have grown steadily in recent years.
Figures released by Temple Street Children's Hospital in Dublin yesterday show it has carried out 68 such circumcisions so far this year compared to 48 for the whole of last year. The previous year, 2001, saw some 45 circumcisions performed on religious or cultural grounds, and in 2000 the number was 15. The children are referred to the hospital for circumcision by a GP or maternity hospital and the procedure is carried out under general anaesthetic, usually when the child is six-months-old. The hospital does not view the procedure as medically necessary but carries it out to avoid it being done independently in inappropriate environments, a spokeswoman said.
At Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin, some 31 non-medical circumcisions have been carried out to date this year. The figures for other recent years were 80 in 2002, 54 in 2001 and 54 in 2000. The increased demand for the service is evident from the fact that just 15 such operations were performed in 1993.
A hospital spokeswoman said there was a four to six months waiting period for non-medical circumcisions. Those considered medically necessary would be carried out more quickly.
The National Children's Hospital in Tallaght carries out 20 to 30 circumcisions a year but this figure includes those considered medically necessary, as well as those carried out for religious or cultural reasons.
A spokeswoman for the Western Health Board said it had also seen an increase in the number of patients referred for circumcision on religious and cultural grounds. In 2002, there were 129 circumcisions carried out at Galway's University College Hospital and four of these were for religious or cultural reasons while in the first six months of this year, nine of the 64 circumcisions performed at the hospital were done on religious or cultural grounds.
Some 131 circumcisions were performed at Cork University Hospital between 1997 and 2002. These included 23 in 2002, 24 in 2001, 22 in 2000, 24 each in 1999 and 1998 and 14 in 1997. These figures represent all circumcisions, both medical and religious. In the South Eastern Health Board region, where circumcisions are provided on medical grounds only, 125 were carried out last year compared to 115 in 1992.