Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Health Service Executive outpatient waiting list initiative was introduced at the end of 2013 for patients who had been waiting more than 12 months who were referred from public to private hospitals for outpatient consultant appointments and treatment. What is the position on the treatment of these patients? It has come to my attention in recent weeks that many of these patients have been told they will no longer be able to continue their treatment under their current consultants and that their files have to be returned in order that they can rejoin the ever increasing outpatient waiting lists at their original hospitals. For example, a young mother, whom I will call Caroline, was referred by her general practitioner in January 2012 to Letterkenny General Hospital for an outpatient appointment with a consultant gynaecologist. Two years later, in January 2014, she was referred under the HSE outpatient waiting list initiative to a private hospital for that consultant appointment, which she attended in March last year. The consultant diagnosed her as requiring surgery. She has been waiting for follow-up treatment since. Last week she received a letter informing her that, unfortunately, the hospital had been instructed by Letterkenny General Hospital that her treatment could no longer continue there owing to financial constraints. The hospital returned her file for ongoing treatment to be carried out within the public sector. The hospital apologised and stated it was completely out of its control. It stated that if she would like to continue her treatment there, she could do so privately and that it would provide a costing for it. Three years after her initial referral she is being put back on the waiting list from which she was referred. There are 1,300 patients in the same situation in Letterkenny General Hospital alone who are unable to have their treatment completed as planned. They are being put back on an ever increasing waiting list from which they had been removed. How many patients are in this position nationally? Will the Government decide to provide the funding required to allow them to complete their treatment, rather than send them back and add them to ever increasing waiting lists in public hospitals?

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