Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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38. To ask the Minister for Health the action which will be taken to address the fact that more than 6,000 outpatient appointments are outstanding for more than 18 months in Cork hospitals as of March 2017. [20766/17]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I acknowledge that waiting times are often unacceptably long and am conscious of the impact of this on people’s lives.

Reducing waiting times for the longest waiting patients is one of this Government's key priorities. Consequently, Budget 2017 allocated €20 million to the NTPF, rising to €55 million in 2018.

In order to reduce the numbers of long-waiting patients, I asked the HSE to develop Waiting List Action Plans for 2017 in the areas of Inpatient/Daycase, Scoliosis and Outpatient Services. These plans have now been finalised and will be communicated shortly.

The plan to reduce outpatient waiting lists will include two work-streams to address both short-term achievement and long-term sustainable goals. The short-term actions will mainly focus on enhanced chronological scheduling, process improvements, as well as administrative and clinical validation. Longer-term measures will also be implemented, such as referral pathways and integrated referral management systems.

Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail)
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39. To ask the Minister for Health the measures being put in place to reduce outpatient waiting times in Beaumont and the Mater Hospital, at which more than 11,000 consultations were outstanding for more than a year in March 2017. [20792/17]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I acknowledge that waiting times are often unacceptably long and am conscious of the impact of this on people’s lives.

Reducing waiting times for the longest waiting patients is one of this Government's key priorities. Consequently, Budget 2017 allocated €20 million to the NTPF, rising to €55 million in 2018.

In order to reduce the numbers of long-waiting patients, I asked the HSE to develop Waiting List Action Plans for 2017 in the areas of Inpatient/Daycase, Scoliosis and Outpatient Services. These plans have now been finalised and will be communicated shortly.

The plan to reduce outpatient waiting lists will include two work-streams to address both short-term achievement and long-term sustainable goals. The short-term actions will mainly focus on enhanced chronological scheduling, process improvements, as well as administrative and clinical validation. Longer-term measures will also be implemented, such as referral pathways and integrated referral management systems.