Dan Neville (Limerick, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

To ask the Minister for Health if he will respond to reports (details attached) that more than 23,000 persons are awaiting up to four years to see a consultant at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in County Limerick; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54544/12]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

A priority action for the HSE has been the development and implementation of standardised reporting for outpatient access through the HSE Outpatient Data Quality Programme. This has enabled reporting of Outpatient Waiting Lists from January 2012. Subsequently, waiting times have been published on www.hse.ie each month as part of the HSE Performance Reports. The latest HSE Performance Report for September 2012 shows that the total number of patients waiting for a first time outpatient appointment, as of 18th October is 385,462, 71.1% of whom are waiting less than 12 months.

Building on the work done by the HSE, the National Treatment Purchase Fund has now taken over the collection of outpatient waiting time data. Its methodology replicates the approach taken with the collection of inpatient and day case waiting times. The collation and analysis of outpatient waiting time data in a standardised format, revealing the distribution of long waiters across all hospitals, allows the SDU and the NTPF, in the first instance, to target their resources towards those patients who are waiting longest and ensure that they are seen and assessed. Over the course of 2013-2015 the HSE together with the SDU and the HSE Clinical Programmes intends to radically reform the structure, organisation and delivery of outpatient services to ensure that the right patient is seen and assessed by the right health professional at the right time. Key elements of this large programme of reform will include on-going validation of waiting lists, the systematic and standardised management of referrals from primary care, a reduction in unacceptably high ‘do not attend’ rates and appropriate discharging from outpatient services when clinically appropriate to do so.

A maximum waiting time target of 12 months for a first time outpatient appointment by 30 November 2013, 26 weeks by 30 November 2014 and 13 weeks by Nov 2015 are the goals for the HSE and the SDU. In relation to the particular issue raised by the Deputy, I have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy.