Liam Twomey (Wexford, Fine Gael)

The circumstances that obtain when trying to see a consultant are a mess. Is there any role for the NTPF in reducing the size of waiting lists? Could it take letters of referral from GPs and give patients a realistic idea as to when they will be seen by a consultant? There is a number of problems in this area. Sometimes when one refers patients to orthopaedic or ENT units in the south east, one does not get a letter back stating when those patients will be seen, at least not until two or three months before their appointments are due. This, however, could be two or three years after the original letter is sent. This is totally unsatisfactory to patients and the GPs who are trying to manage them in a proper way.

If we believe GPs are the gatekeepers of the acute hospital sector, which is slowly crumbling in front of us, we should give patients a realistic time at which they can be seen by a consultant and inform their GPs accordingly. The NTPF seems to be in a position to take over this role and look after the list for the whole country, possibly for all 37 acute hospitals. Perhaps there is no need for each hospital to have an outpatients' appointments administrative centre.

The validation of the current lists represents an annoyance and a hindrance and consequently care is not being given to patients when they need it. The waiting list trends are published every year in the media but the patients are not being seen any sooner. I would like to hear a radical proposal from the Tánaiste so patients will know when they will be seen. It is quite strange that in some other jurisdictions, the populations of which believe they have a good health care system, patients often wait no more than 12 weeks for an operation after the sending of the original letter of referral by their GPs. In Ireland, patients often have to wait 12 weeks just to get on to the waiting list. We are falling way behind.

I know the Minister has to deal with the crisis in accident and emergency units.

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