Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 711: To ask the Minister for Health and Children her views regarding clients with appointments not turning up for hospital outpatient appointments; if any data on such no shows exist; if it is available nationally, for any Dublin hospitals or any pilot scheme; if the figures are significant and if any censure against such patients has been considered or an explanation sought from them; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33050/10]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Independent)
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We have high rates of patients who do not attend for outpatient appointments in our hospitals. This results in a poor use of clinical and administrative resources. It is important that outpatient services, as a key point of access for patients to acute hospital services, operate efficiently and that people referred to them can be seen without delay. The HSE's National Service Plan 2010 identifies a number of measures being taken to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of outpatient services and to increase the proportion of new attendees within the overall numbers attending. These include the proactive management of appointments and more appropriate discharge of frequent attenders back to primary care services. The plan also includes a performance target for non-attendance ("DNA") by patients of not more than 10%, for both new and return attendees. It is a matter for the HSE, working with the hospitals, to develop appropriate measures to support the attainment of these targets.

The HSE publishes monthly reports on its performance and this includes, in the acute hospital services section of the supplementary report, detailed data on the DNA rates for individual hospitals. The website address for the performance reports

elishttp://www.hse.ie/eng/services/Publications/corporate/Performance_Reports_Monthly.html