Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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461. To ask the Minister for Health the number of patients on waiting lists for hip replacements at various hospitals throughout the country; the longest period of time that a person has been on this waiting list; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23772/18]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Improving waiting times for hospital procedures is a key commitment in the Programme for Government and this year, €50 million was allocated to the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) to provide treatment for patients and reduce waiting times. The Inpatient/Day Case Action Plan 2018 which was published in April outlines the combined impact of HSE and NTPF activity in 2018 to reduce the number of patients waiting for treatment. NTPF authorisations are made in respect of the longest waiting patients first.

The Action Plan has been developed to ensure an appropriate balance between high volume activities and offering treatment to complex long waiting patients.

The Action Plan includes a focus on orthopaedic patients with 800 of the 20,000 NTPF funded procedures planned for patients requiring hip/knee replacements. In 2018, under the Plan, all clinically suitable patients waiting over 9 months for a hip/knee replacement will be offered treatment this year.

As outlined in the Plan, the NTPF will invite public hospitals to suggest solutions for very long waiters either in the private sector or through insourcing. The NTPF will provide funding to those suggested solutions that are appropriate. 

The Waiting list figures are published every month by the NTPF on their website, ntpf.ie. The following table, and attached link, sets out the waiting list information requested by the Deputy for April 2018:

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