Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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53. To ask the Minister for Health the number of persons waiting for ophthalmology services in County Cork; his plans for reducing waiting times for persons; and the options he has considered to deal with these waiting lists [27868/17]

Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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Over the last year we have seen the number of people waiting for ophthalmic procedures, in particular cataract operations, in Cork continue to increase. While that list is increasing, those people's quality of life continues to deteriorate. People are afraid of moving around their own homes in case they trip and fall and break a hip, and they have reduced mobility and are not able to get out to get their driver's licence renewed, for example. We need to establish what action will be taken to reduce the extraordinarily long waiting lists for those waiting for cataract operations in the south-west.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for the question. As he will be aware, NTPF data for May 2017, the last month for which figures are available, indicates that 6,607 patients are on ophthalmology outpatient waiting lists for hospitals in Cork and a total of 1,118 are on inpatient or daycase lists. I acknowledge that waiting times are often unacceptably long and I am conscious of the burden this places on patients and their families. There is no doubt that our public hospital system is challenged in meeting the growing demand for care. In order to take action on this and do something about it, we have developed waiting list action plans for this year in the areas of inpatient-daycase and outpatient services. These plans focus on reducing the number of patients waiting 15 months or more by the end of October. Under these plans, approximately 14,200 patients have already come off the inpatient-daycase list and almost 49,000 off the outpatient lists.

Last December I granted approval to the NTPF for funding in the region of €5 million for those waiting longest for daycase treatment to ensure that in excess of 2,000 patients waiting more than 18 months for a daycase procedure will receive an offer of an appointment by the end this month.

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The NTPF has advised that to date 2,500 patient files have been transferred to private hospitals under this initiative, 631 patients have accepted an offer of treatment and 178 patients have received their procedure.

The inpatient and daycase waiting list action plan will be delivered through a combination of normal hospital activity from the HSE budget, funded under the national service plan, as well as insourcing initiatives through the NTPF in public hospitals and outsourcing initiatives in private hospitals using the €15 million of budget 2017. I assure the Deputy that ophthalmology waiting lists, including for people in Cork, will be progressed using insourcing initiatives while we will provide additional funding to public hospitals to provide more ophthalmology procedures using funding through the NTPF. I expect this will show significant progress in the coming weeks and months.

Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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I understand the €5 million aimed at daycase waiting lists was originally intended to reduce the number of people waiting by the end of June this year. At this stage, more than 87 people are waiting for inpatient procedures in Cork. Are we still on target for this? Is it realistic these people will get their procedures by then? Has the Minister looked at, for example, the Sligo model in which far more community services are used? This means instead of the consultant dealing with after-care this is done in the community and the consultant is free to deal with people who have cataracts and who are waiting for procedures. It is a major concern to so many older people in my community who, for example, are afraid of losing their driver licences because of their eyesight. This is not just about driving, it is about social isolation, a threat to the wider family and people being able to meet their grandchildren. Will the Minister prioritise this?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy. In fairness, he has highlighted the seriousness of this issue to a person's quality of life, safety and well-being. As I stated, the €5 million was to treat in excess of 2,000 patients. The NTPF has transferred 2,500 patient files, because not every patient will be in a position to accept treatment for a variety of personal reasons. Today, 631 of these patients have accepted an offer of treatment and 178 of them have received their procedure. I expect this number to continue to grow apace because it is fully funded and fully authorised.

The point made by Deputy Moynihan about doing more in primary care hits the nail entirely on the head. There is more we can do with regard to primary care by services in the community. As the Deputy may know, the HSE is about to finalise a report on a review of primary care eye services, the aim of which is to look at how much more can be done in primary care, with an increased emphasis on maximising the delivery of a comprehensive service in primary care, which thereby, as the Deputy correctly said, creates capacity in hospitals to provide more complex ophthalmology services. The programme for Government commits to developing a national eye care plan, including the evaluation of the Sligo model for cataract services. The Sligo model is largely one where more services are carried out in the community. I expect to have more information for the Deputy on this in the coming weeks and I will revert to him.

Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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Are the NTPF figures quoted by the Minister national figures or are they specific to Cork and Kerry? CUH has the largest number of people waiting more than 18 months, with 1,350 people. Well over 7,000 people are waiting for inpatient and outpatient procedures. Has the Minister looked at the option of hiring additional ophthalmic physicians? Is there space in the Estimates? If so, how many people will the Minister consider taking on, specifically in the Cork and Kerry region?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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They were national figures. Obviously, included in this is meeting the longest waiters regardless of where they live in the country. The figures that relate to the Deputy's region will be focused on in this regard. The South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital is actively working with the NTPF in terms of ophthalmology to ensure a number of patients will have their procedures performed by private providers locally. I have data specifically on Cork, which I am happy to share with the Deputy, but I would probably run out of time if I tried to get through it.

The Deputy's point on hiring additional staff is correct. The Deputy's party wished to see the re-establishment of the NTPF. It is very important in re-establishing the NTPF that we send out a message it is here to stay for a number of years and that hospitals, be they private or public, can hire additional staff. I have already asked the NTPF to start planning for 2018. The Government has already committed €55 million, which is a significant increase in the budget of this year, and Deputy Kelleher is wagging his finger to make sure we get on with it. That commitment should send a very important message and I have conveyed this to the HSE to ensure we have in place and actively recruit additional staff so they can hit the ground running with regard to spending the money.