Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
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Question 129: To ask the Minister for Health and Children her plans, in view of the investigation into breast cancer treatment in Barringtons and other concerns with regard to quality control in privately run health institutions, to ensure that standards and quality in private health care are monitored to protect patients; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24012/07]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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Quality standards for symptomatic breast disease services have already been developed by a group established by the Minister and were subsequently endorsed by the Board of the Health Information and Quality Authority. The Authority will be monitoring compliance with these standards by the Health Services Executive. HIQA has also invited all public and private hospitals to participate in a self assessment exercise which will be conducted over the next few months. I have called on hospitals in the independent sector to take steps to ensure that their breast cancer services comply with these standards and I have brought the standards to the attention of private healthcare insurers. The HSE recently announced a major re-configuration of the delivery of cancer care in this country which will involve the provision of services from dedicated centres of excellence.

In January 2007, I established the Commission on Patient Safety and Quality Assurance to develop proposals for a health service wide system of governance based on corporate accountability for the quality and safety of all health services. One of its terms of reference is to specifically examine and make recommendations in relation to a statutory system of licensing for public and private health care providers and services.

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Question 130: To ask the Minister for Health and Children her proposals to fulfil the commitment in the 2001 health strategy which stated that by the end of 2003 no adult would have to wait longer than six months for treatment and no child would have to wait longer than three months; the measures that will be taken on foot of recent figures indicating that 12,000 adults are waiting longer than six months and 2,200 children are waiting longer than three months; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24022/07]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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My Department has been advised by the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) that waiting times for the most common surgical procedures now range from 2 to 5 months compared to 2 to 5 years before the advent of the NTPF in 2002. According to the most recently published (July 2007) data from the Patient Treatment Register operated by the NTPF, 19 of the 20 most common adult procedures have an average wait time of 2 to 4 months while 9 of the top 10 surgical procedures for children have an average wait time of 2 to 5 months. The NTPF and the HSE will continue to address the issue of hospital waiting lists to seek to ensure that patients do not have to wait for unacceptably long periods to obtain the treatment that they require.