Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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142. To ask the Minister for Health if a person (details supplied) is eligible to have hip replacement surgery performed under the National Treatment Purchase Fund. [45351/17]

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. Budget 2018 allocated additional funding in the region of €10m for the remainder of 2017 to fund patient treatment across a range of key specialties and 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. Under the Inpatient/Daycase Plan, since early February, over 27,000 patients have come off the Inpatient/Daycase Waiting List.

The NTPF has advised that to date 9,476 patients have been authorised for treatment in private hospitals under its Day Case Initiative, 3,415 patients have accepted an offer of treatment in a private hospital and that 1,499 patients have received their procedure. The NTPF has also indicated that 3,645 patients have been authorised for treatment in public hospitals under the Plan’s insourcing initiatives, 1,310 offers of treatment have been accepted and 573 patients have been treated.

Under the Oupatient Plan, since early February, over 94,000 patients have come off the Outpatient Waiting List.

Under waiting list initiatives run by the NTPF, the NTPF liaises directly with hospitals to identify patients to be treated. The patients are then contacted to arrange the details of treatment.

Under the Health Act 2004, the Health Service Executive (HSE) is required to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. Section 6 of the HSE Governance Act 2013 bars the Minister for Health from directing the HSE to provide a treatment or a personal service to any individual or to confer eligibility on any individual.

In relation to the particular query raised, as this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly.