Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy O'Reilly for giving me a chance to find the question and I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for making sure we are all awake.

I thank Deputy O'Reilly for her question and fully acknowledge the distress and inconvenience for patients and their families when elective procedures are cancelled. Cancellation of elective procedures can occur for a variety of exceptional reasons, including because a bed or the clinical team is not available, the patient is unable to attend or because the patient may not be fit for surgery at the time.

Based on data provided by the National Treatment Purchase Fund, NTPF, collated from reports by hospitals, approximately 3,400 elective procedures, on average, are cancelled per month. In 2016 there were typically approximately 53,000 admissions to acute hospitals on a day case and inpatient basis per month.

Public hospitals need to plan, taking account of seasonal pressures and this is an area in which we need to get much better. The national emergency department escalation framework which was agreed with a number of representative bodies and management sets out procedures to be followed in hospitals during periods of high demand for emergency care to ensure that safe care is provided to all patients. The HSE intends to undertake a review of the escalation framework in the coming months to ensure its effectiveness. As the Deputy will know, part of that escalation framework is agreement that elective procedures will be cancelled.

Reducing waiting times for the longest waiting patients is one of this Government's key priorities. In December 2016, I granted approval to the NTPF to dedicate €5 million to a day case waiting list initiative with the aim of ensuring that no patient will be waiting more than 18 months for a day case procedure by 30 June 2017. In addition, the NTPF will be working closely with my Department and the HSE to agree an approach to the remaining 2017 allocation, as well as planning the approach for the significant increase in the allocation to address longest waiting times in 2018.

The HSE is also currently developing a 2017 waiting list action plan for inpatient and day case procedures and for outpatient appointments to ensure that no patient is waiting more than 15 months by the end of October for any such procedure or appointment.

I include a tabular statement setting out details of the number of elective surgeries cancelled from January 2016 to January 2017, broken down by month.

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