Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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472. To ask the Minister for Health if a waiting time, in many cases in excess of 14 months, is too long for public patients waiting to see a gynaecologist; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42957/15]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Improving waiting times for scheduled care for patients is a key priority for the Government. In January, taking into account current pressures on acute hospital services, I put in place maximum permissible waiting times for in-patient and day case treatment and outpatient appointments of 18 months by 30 June and 15 months by year end.

The HSE was provided with additional funding of €51m to ensure that these maximum waiting times would be achieved. The funding provided is intended to maximise capacity across public and voluntary hospitals as well as outsourcing activity where the capacity is not available to meet patient needs within the maximum allowable waiting time.

In June, the HSE reported a performance against the 18 month maxima of 99.6% for in-patient/day cases (IP/DC) and 92% for out-patients (OPD). The latest NTPF figures, published on Friday 6 November, continue to show improvements. There are reductions in the total In-patient/Daycase waiting list, and in the numbers of patients waiting between 15–18 months and waiting over 18 months. This is very positive, as it is the first time that we have seen reductions in all 3 key categories.

Concerted efforts have been made to reduce outpatient waiting lists by facilitating additional clinics outside conventional working hours and outsourcing where capacity is limited. Improvements are also evident with the end of October seeing a reduction of almost 5000 in the overall Outpatient waiting lists and of over 3000 in the number of people waiting between 15–18 months for appointments. The total number of people waiting for outpatient appointments has fallen below 400,000 for the first time this year.

The HSE is addressing the areas of underachievement of maximum waiting times with Hospital Groups as part of the regular performance and accountability process, as well as seeking the support of the National Clinical Programmes to ensure that the appropriate referral and clinical pathways are used at all times. The main priority is the patients affected by any delays in waiting lists and the HSE will ensure that these patients are prioritised for treatment.