Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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868. To ask the Minister for Health if the waiting list action plans for 2017 in the areas of inpatient and day case, scoliosis and outpatient services have been funded by the National Treatment Purchase Fund or if they are a HSE initiative only. [37129/17]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I acknowledge that waiting times are often unacceptably long and I am conscious of the burden that this places on patients and their families.

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. Of this 2017 allocation, €15 million has been set aside for the treatment of those patients waiting longest for inpatient and daycase procedures.

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. The Inpatient/Daycase Action Plan is being delivered through a combination of normal hospital activity, as well as insourcing and outsourcing initiatives utilising NTPF funding.

The Scoliosis and Outpatient Action Plan's are being delivered through the HSE 2017 budget allocation.