Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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Question 426: To ask the Minister for Health the basis for the difference in calculating waiting lists by the Health Service Executive and the special delivery unit [40257/11]

Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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Question 473: To ask the Minister for Health the criteria he uses to calculate the length of time patients are on waiting lists for surgery; if it has changed over the course of the year; if so, the way that it has come about; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39728/11]

Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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Question 474: To ask the Minister for Health the reason the number of patients who are waiting for more than one year for surgery in Galway University Hospital has increased in one year to 1,496 from 600; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39729/11]

Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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Question 475: To ask the Minister for Health if he will provide in tabular form, the number of patients who are waiting for more than one year for surgery in each hospital; the same figure for this time last year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39730/11]

Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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Question 476: To ask the Minister for Health if the recently published figures from the Health Service Executive regarding 30,756 patients on the waiting lists for surgery are correct; if they have improved or disimproved; the actions he is taking to reduce them; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39731/11]

Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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Question 477: To ask the Minister for Health if the number of patients waiting for more than one year for surgery now calculated by the Health Service Executive as 3117, as of September, is correct; if incorrect, if he will provide the correct figure waiting for more than one year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39732/11]

Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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Question 478: To ask the Minister for Health if the methodology used to calculate patients waiting for surgery used is the one used by the Health Service Executive or the National Treatment Purchase Fund; and if it is validated by European guidelines on waiting lists; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39733/11]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 426 and 473 to 478, inclusive, together.

In July of this year I requested that public hospitals ensure that, by the end of 2011, they have no patients waiting more than 12 months for treatment. In order to achieve this target a new calculation methodology was introduced, the new method is described as the 'Maximum Waiting Time Target'.

The NTPF working on behalf of the Special Delivery Unit was first tasked with creating a comprehensive list of those persons - who if not treated - would be waiting for over 12 months by the 31st of December 2011. The creation of such a list therefore had to effectively search into the future to estimate the number of people that might require treatment. In July of this year the NTPF established the list by ascertaining all the names of people who had been listed for treatment on or before the 31st of December 2010. The list contained approximately 14,000 names. It is clear that that database had to include ALL of the patients who would have reached or exceeded a 12 month target on the 31st of December 2011. This list is referred to as the Primary Targeting List (PTL).

This explains why the list being operated by the NTPF for the SDU is calculated on a different basis to the list offered by the HSE in its performance reports. The HSE list, also compiled by the NTPF, is a snapshot and relates to those who had already been waiting longer than 12 months on a specific day. By the end of August it was determined that 9,657 persons listed on or before 31 December 2010 continued to be available for treatment. Of these all but 684 had received their treatment by 8th December last.

The NTPF determined in August that University College Hospital Galway (UCHG) had 2,530 patients whose treatment must be provided by the end of December this year in order for UCHG to meet the new target that no patient could be waiting for longer than 12 months for treatment at the end of this year. I can confirm that as of 8th December this number has fallen to 455. The NTPF and the SDU continue to work closely with UCHG to reduce this figure further.

In relation to the Deputy's question regarding the 30,756 September figure for patients waiting over three months, I can confirm that this number is correct. However I wish to advise the Deputy that the number for people waiting over 3 months at the end of November is 26,832 indicating a significant reduction of 13%. The NTPF calculation methodology has been in place for some time and there have been no changes in this regard.

The NTPFs Patient Treatment Register was established in 2005 and is compliant with the Council of Europe Recommendations. The number of patients who are waiting for more than one year for surgery in each hospital now and this time last year is set out in the following table. The figures are from the Patient Treatment Register and show the numbers of patients waiting 12 months or more as of 8 December 2011. They differ somewhat from the PTL.