Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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74. To ask the Minister for Health the reason more than 12,000 persons had been waiting over a year for an outpatient appointment in County Limerick hospitals in April 2018. [23551/18]

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 University of Limerick Hospitals Group are seeing 67% 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, University of Limerick Hospitals Group had over 216,000 (216,812) Outpatient department attendances. However, over 35,000 patients did not attend their appointments last year.

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 ensuring 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.