Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Health if he will provide in tabular form by each hospital the number of patients who have had their operations cancelled or rescheduled since March 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37118/12]

Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Health if he will provide in tabular form, the number of patients who have been transferred to another hospital waiting list; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37123/12]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1578 and 1583 together.

As these are service matters, they have been referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply.

Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Health the basis for which waiting list category definitions have been changed; the definition of each category in terms of recommended operation time before and after the change; the number of patients in each category before the change; the number in each category after the change; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37119/12]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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I can confirm that to date there have been no changes to the waiting list data capture categorisation since the patient treatment register (PTR) was established in 2005. As you are aware a new target of 9 month maximum waiting time for daycase and inpatient surgery has been implemented. The challenge for 2012 is firstly to maintain the 12 month maximum waiting time target for in patient and day case procedures and then to continually improve and move to a 9 month maximum waiting time target.

At present the categorisation of patients within the scheduled care system is neither defined with sufficient clarity nor enacted for each patient with sufficient consistency. The lack of clarity is contributed to by some ambiguity and vagueness within the existing definitions; and the lack of consistency by insufficiently rigorous attributions within hospital data sets, and inadequate audit and review processes. Unless we succeed in introducing much higher levels of clarity and consistency, effective systems management will be impossible. In that context it is the intention later in 2012 to request clinicians to categorise their referrals as either 'urgent' or 'routine'. It is important to emphasise that determining urgency will always rest with clinicians.

Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Health inclusive of inpatient, outpatient and elective treatment, the mean average length of time in terms of days for patients on waiting lists in March 2011; the same figure for July 2011; the figure now; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37120/12]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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The NTPF only uses the median in its calculation of waiting list times as this is the international standard for presentation. National medians waiting times for the dates requested by the Deputy are as follows:

The NTPF has not fully assumed responsibility for measuring outpatient waiting times. Therefore I have forwarded the question to the HSE who will respond directly to the Deputy in this regard.

Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Health if he will provide in tabular form for each hospital, inclusive of inpatient, outpatient and elective treatment, the number of patients on waiting lists in March 2011 waiting for three to six months, for six to nine months, for nine to twelve months, for 12-24 months, and for longer the 24 months; the same figure for July 2011; the figure now; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37121/12]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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The overall figures for inpatient waiting lists requested by the deputy is set out in the table below; I have asked the HSE to reply to the deputy directly regarding outpatient waiting lists.

National Waiting List Analysis by hospital > 3 months as at 24th March 2011

Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Health inclusive of inpatient, outpatient and elective treatment, the length of time the longest waiter on waiting lists has been waiting, the county the person resides in; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37122/12]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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The National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) has advised that the longest waiter was placed on the waiting list for surgery on 5th August 2009. The patient is unsuitable for treatment in another hospital and therefore could not be referred to the NTPF. The patient previously declined one offer of a surgery date and is now scheduled for surgery on the 19th September 2012. It would be inappropriate for the NTPF to advise you of the hospital or the county that the patient resides in as this would pose a risk of that patient being identified.