Shane Cassells (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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98. To ask the Minister for Health the reason for the four fold increase since April 2016 in the number of outpatients waiting more than a year for a consultation in Our Lady’s Hospital, Navan. [23564/18]

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

The HSE service plan 2018 sets out a target that 80% of patients waiting for a first outpatient appointment will be seen within a 52 week wait timeframe. HSE figures for March 2018 show that Our Lady's Hospital, Navan is seeing over between 79-83% of outpatients within 52 weeks.

Each year 3.3 million patients attend Hospital Outpatient clinics for appointments, with demand for services growing year-on-year. A key component of the management of waiting lists by hospitals is the categorisation of patients by clinical priority to ensure that all patients receive care in timely and clinically appropriate matter.

In 2017, Our Lady’s Hospital, Navan had over 29,000 (29,836) Outpatient Department attendances.

Our Lady's Hospital Navan has advised that a number of steps are underway to reduce current OPD waiting lists. These include the appointment of a scheduled care lead to oversee scheduling of patients and an Out-patient Manager who will support validation of OPD lists and other measures to improve OPD waiting times. In addition, Our Lady's Hospital is seeking to fill a number of vacant posts, including positions in orthopaedics, rheumatology and gynaecology.

The HSE is working 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 ensure timely access to treatment and care for our patients. I hope to publish this Plan shortly. As part of this process the NTPF and the HSE are currently reviewing proposals from hospitals for outpatient initiatives.