Shane Cassells (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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233. To ask the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 560 of 4 April 2017, if the 2,786 persons waiting more than 12 months for cataract surgery can avail of the National Treatment Purchase Fund; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23522/17]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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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 December 2016, I granted approval to the NTPF for the first tranche of funding in the region of €5m for a waiting list initiative with the aim of ensuring that in excess of 2000 patients waiting more than 18 months for a daycase procedure will have received an appointment for their procedure by 30 June 2017. The NTPF has advised that the Initiative has commenced and patients are currently receiving their appointments. Specifically, over 350 patients awaiting cataract procedures who would have been waiting for longer than 18 months by the end of June have been identified as appropriate to test the first clinical pathway for this outsourcing initiative.

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.