Dáil debates

Thursday, 22 October 2015

Other Questions

Hospital Waiting Lists

10:05 am

Photo of Dara CallearyDara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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8. To ask the Minister for Health the reason for the 75% increase from August to September 2015 at Mayo General Hospital in the number of outpatients waiting longer than 18 months for an appointment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36591/15]

Photo of Dara CallearyDara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Rather unusually, I received a response from the hospital group before this question came up in the House. That is not always the way. From August to September there has been a 75% increase in the number of outpatients waiting longer than 18 months at Mayo General Hospital. There seems to be specific pressure on the National Treatment Purchase Fund, NTPF, figures in regard to dermatology, general medicine, nephrology, ENT and urology. What plans are in place to deal with this problem and does the Minister envisage any extra resources for the hospital?

Photo of Leo VaradkarLeo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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In January, I put in place maximum permissible waiting times of 18 months for inpatient and day case treatment and outpatient appointments by the end of June and of 15 months by the end of the year.

In September, the number of outpatients waiting more than 18 months was 427 for Mayo General Hospital. As the Deputy points out, this represents, unfortunately, an increase over the August figures. However, it does represent an improvement of 120 on the January figures. In January, there had been 547 patients waiting more than 18 months. The figure dipped mid year, but has risen again, but not to as high a figure as at the start of the year. The hospital has confirmed that it is focusing on specific specialties and timeframes based on national targets and that it expects to achieve a maximum waiting time of 15 months by the end of the year.

The HSE has provided additional funding of €51 million this year to ensure these maximum waiting times are achieved by all hospitals. This funding is intended to maximise capacity across public and voluntary hospitals as well as outsourcing activity where the capacity is not available to meet patient needs within the maximum allowable waiting time. In June, the HSE reported a performance against the 14-month maxima of 99.6% for inpatient day cases and 92% for outpatients.

Concerted efforts have been made to reduce outpatient waiting lists overall by facilitating additional clinics outside conventional working hours and outsourcing where capacity is limited. The success of this approach is evident nationally, with the reduction of more than 4,300 in the overall outpatient waiting lists in the six weeks to the end of September. Approximately 4,620 outpatient appointments are being provided by mid-November, specifically for those waiting 15 months and more.

10:15 am

Photo of Dara CallearyDara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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We are very proud of the work that goes on at Mayo General Hospital but it seems to be under pressure on many different fronts at the moment, in particular in regard to accident and emergency and surgery. Of the €51 million mentioned by the Minister, how much was allocated to Mayo General Hospital in the past 11 months? The Minister said earlier that 4,000 extra staff have been appointed to the health service in the past 12 months. How many of those have gone to Mayo General Hospital?

What is the role of the hospital groups in this context? With regard to Saolta, in the Minister's view, is there enough engagement between the various components of the hospital groups towards dealing with this on a cross-hospital basis as opposed to an individual-hospital basis? I am aware of one recent case where a person was brought to the hospital in regard to a condition but declined to be treated by the specific consultant attached to Mayo General Hospital and opted for a consultant who was part of University Hospital Galway, and that person had to make their own arrangements. Surely, with a hospital group, that could have been done on a group-wide basis. It suggests to me that, perhaps, the group concept is not working the way we want it to.

If an appointment is scheduled and the hospital cancels the appointment, does this count as an appointment taken off the waiting list and then put onto a new timeframe or a new waiting list?

Photo of Leo VaradkarLeo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I do not know the answer to that question for sure but I would assume that if the hospital cancels the appointment, the person retains the same position on the waiting list as they would have had previously. That is what I would expect to be the case, although I will have to double-check it. It would be unusual if anything else were being done.

I do not have the exact staff figures for Mayo but I can get my office to send them on to Deputy Calleary since they are available. Like all the hospital groups, Saolta hospital group is relatively new. Saolta is one of the more developed ones, having a directorate across the hospitals, which seems to be working quite well. Needless to say, all the hospital groups are relatively new and need further development over the next year or so.