Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy MacSharry for raising this matter. As he is aware, in budget 2019, we have prioritised improving access and reducing waiting times for patients with funding to the NTPF increasing from €55 million in 2018 to €75 million in 2019. I am pleased to say this increase in funding will allow us to target 40,000 outpatient appointments.

The Deputy has raised with me before the importance of using the NTPF for inpatient day cases where we have seen progress. We are also now asking it to play a role for outpatients too. To date in 2018, the NTPF has approved almost 12,700 additional first-time outpatient appointments and this will increase to 40,000 appointments next year. I recently met with the CEOs of all hospital groups to discuss improving access for patients and requested that they work with the NTPF and HSE to develop new proposals to address the number of long waiters on outpatient lists in 2019.

Sligo University Hospital, through engagement with the NTPF, will be running an additional ear, nose and throat, ENT, clinic every week from November to help reduce those waiting for their first appointment. This is good news for people in the Deputy's county. Sligo University Hospital specifically, and Saolta Hospital Group, have demonstrated a clear commitment to reducing the number of outpatients waiting to be seen. Since 2017 additional outpatient clinics have been held for gynaecology, general medicine and neurology to increase the number of patients seen and reduce long waiting times. Sligo has also embraced several other approaches, including the use of virtual clinics in the orthopaedic department; a restructuring of the acute pain clinic to allow for referrals to be triaged and treated by a multidisciplinary specialist team; and the development of an ophthalmology service. The Sligo eye care model which people talk so much about is something that I would like to see rolled out as part of our Sláintecare plans and our HSE service plan in 2019. We will have funding for additional outpatient and hospital appointments in 2019. I will work with the Saolta group to consider more initiatives for Sligo. I am very pleased that from next month we will have an additional ENT clinic every week in Sligo funded through the NTPF.

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