Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)
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Question 203: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the progress in regard to the commitment given in the programme for Government to ensure that the patient treatment register is operated for all inpatient and outpatient referrals; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18321/08]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)
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Question 204: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the progress in regard to the commitment given in the programme for Government to implement a proactive system whereby every person who is waiting for treatment for three months automatically receives a written offer of treatment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18322/08]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 203 and 204 together.

The National Patient Treatment Register is an online register of patients on in-patient and day cases, compiled and maintained by the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF). Patients, general practitioners and hospitals can access up-to-date information on the waiting-time for some 7,500 procedures through the PTR website www.ptr.ie. The NTPF has informed me that it will be undertaking further work in 2008 to develop and manage this information source.

The NTPF has made significant inroads into lowering waiting-times. For the most common procedures, the median waiting-time is now down to 2 to 4 months for adults and 2 to 5 months for children. The overall median wait time for all specialties is 3.5 months. The NTPF continues to work to reduce the waiting-time for surgery and a particular objective in 2008 is to eliminate the cohort of patients waiting longer than 12 months.