Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
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283. To ask the Minister for Health the measures he will take to reduce the waiting times for outpatient rheumatology appointments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19744/18]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Improving waiting times for hospital procedures and outpatient appointments is a key commitment in the Programme for Government. While the Inpatient and Day Case (IPDC) Action Plan was published in April to address waiting times for IPDC procedures, the Outpatient waiting list remains a significant challenge to be addressed in 2018.

Each year, 3.3 million patients attend Hospital Outpatient clinics for appointments. A number of steps, including a national waiting list validation project by the HSE, are being taken to ensure the lists are accurate and these efforts will intensify in the coming months.

The outpatient waiting list figures for March 2018, published by the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF), show that there is a total of 15,408 patients on the rheumatology outpatient waiting list. Of these 42% of patients are waiting 6 months or less while 34% of patients are waiting over 12 months.

Work has commenced on the development of an Outpatient Department (OPD) Action Plan for 2018. The HSE will work with the NTPF and my Department to finalise a joint plan focused on improving overall use of resources to tackle long patient waiting times and ensuring timely access to treatment and care for patients.