Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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Question 226: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children if her attention has been drawn to the fact that public patients in Cork are having to wait for up to four years to see a consultant; if her attention has further been drawn to the fact that of the 40,000 plus patients treated by National Treatment Purchase Fund since its inception in 2002 only 6.5% or 2,600 of those were from the Cork area; her views on whether the delay in seeing consultants is preventing many patients with serious ailments availing of the National Treatment Purchase Fund; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9074/06]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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In 2005 I asked the National Treatment Purchase Fund, NTPF, to examine the needs of patients waiting longest on outpatient waiting lists. As a result, the NTPF set up a number of outpatient pilot projects around the country. The outcome was that approximately 4,400 persons who had been waiting longest in a number of specialties received consultations at outpatient level in private hospitals.

The NTPF intends to expand its outpatient initiative in 2006 and the fund has asked for proposals from hospitals in this regard. The fund has reported that, to date, no proposals have been received from the acute hospitals in Cork.

Responsibility for the management and delivery of acute hospital services is a matter for the Health Service Executive. Accordingly, my Department has requested the parliamentary affairs division of the executive to arrange to have a response provided for the Deputy on the management of outpatient waiting lists in Cork hospitals and any proposals to reduce outpatient waiting times.