Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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15. To ask the Minister for Health the current waiting time for new referrals for an outpatient orthopaedic appointment in Letterkenny General Hospital, County Donegal, compared to the national target time; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20538/15]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Reducing long waiting times for hospital treatment is a key priority for Government. Last January, taking into account current pressures on acute hospital services, I directed the HSE to ensure maximum permissable waiting times for in-patient and day case treatment or a first consultant-led outpatient appointment of 18 months by mid year and 15 months by year end.

Over the last 7 weeks, the number of people waiting for an outpatient appointment has reduced by 7,773. The HSE, in conjunction with Hospital Groups, is focused on this requirement through maximising the use of internal capacity within and across Hospital Groups in the first instance, in addition to validating waiting lists and facilitating additional clinics where capacity exists to do so.

Letterkenny General Hospital advises that the average waiting time for patients to receive an orthopaedic appointment, based on recent attendance data, is 39 weeks.

In April 2015 Letterkenny General Hospital introduced physiotherapy-led musculoskeletal outpatient clinics to address the needs of those referred with lower back pain. It is anticipated that this clinic will provide significant additional capacity for this cohort of patients, contributing to a spectrum of care which supports the efficient use of hospital resources.

As well as initiatives at local level, it is recognised that judicious outsourcing may be required to address prolonged waiting times.