Mr. Dean Sullivan:

That is a good point. The Sláintecare targets are that it should take ten weeks to go from GP referral to being seen in outpatients and 12 weeks thereafter to receive definitive treatment. It should take ten days for a diagnostic test if that is required. As the Deputy indicated, Covid has had a material impact, in some cases of more than 50%, on levels of capacity and activity. That is why in the winter and pandemic plans we sought to secure extra resources to help close the gap in terms of lost capacity. We have been successful in that regard, which is fantastic. At this time, it is inevitable that there will be an impact in terms of the timeline for bringing in the Sláintecare targets. It would be a big ask in terms of treatment, those waiting for inpatient or day case care and so on, to even hope that those targets would be reached. The total number of outpatients has increased from just under 570,000 in September 2019 to 613,000 now. Total inpatient and day cases increased from 68,000 to 76,000.

We had been making some progress on the inpatient day case treatment times prior to the onset of Covid but the gains in that progress have been lost in the context of Covid. In summary, the point the Deputy is making is right because, first, there are more patients waiting now and, second, for the foreseeable future it will be hard to deliver something close to the levels of activity that were delivered pre-Covid. It will affect the timeline for introducing the Sláintecare waiting times. However, through a combination of additional capacity and transformation in how we deliver services, we are still committed to delivering on those targets. They are crucial to the confidence that the public and the public's representatives have in the service. It is very important. Many people are waiting in pain and distress. It is a key priority for the HSE right up to the board of the organisation.