Shane Cassells (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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30. To ask the Minister for Health the initiatives that will be taken to reduce long waiting times for an outpatient appointment in Our Lady’s Hospital, Navan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28292/18]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) data published on 13 June 2018 indicates that there is a total of 5,815 adults waiting for an outpatient appointment in Our Lady’s Hospital Navan. This is an increase of 3.5% on the numbers waiting in May 2017 (5,618).

The Ireland East Hospital Group advises that Our Lady’s Hospital has undertaken a number of initiatives to deliver additional outpatient clinics and to address some of the long waiters on the outpatient waiting list.

In Orthopaedics, the hospital has added an Arthroplasty Clinical Nurse Specialist since February 2018 to assist with outpatient clinics. The appointment of a new Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist is planned for early autumn which should free up additional capacity for new patients.

Cardiology services will be improved with the upcoming appointment of a new Cardiologist between Our Lady’s in Navan and the Mater Hospital. This is one of a number of additional posts approved between both hospitals as part of the Navan redesign programme.

The regional rheumatology service will be supported with the appointment of two new Advanced Nurse Practitioners – these nurses will manage existing patients in nurse-led clinics thus freeing up space to accommodate new referrals.

New organisational structures are to be introduced in the hospital. A recruitment campaign is currently underway to appoint a Scheduled Care Lead who will oversee scheduling of patients in a timely manner, and support the validation of outpatient lists and measures to improve the rates of "Did Not Attend"  (DNA) patients at outpatient clinics.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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31. To ask the Minister for Health the action that will be taken to reduce outpatient waiting times for neurology consultations in University Hospital Limerick in which 443 appointments are outstanding for more than 18 months. [28290/18]

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.

The University of Limerick (UL) Hospital Group has advised that all patients who are waiting on outpatient lists, including for neurology, are prioritised according to clinical need. In addition UL Hospitals Group continues to focus on seeing and treating those who have been waiting the longest.

The Hospital Group further advises that neurology outpatient activity at UL has been steadily increasing year-on-year since 2016, and saw a 7% increase from 2017 to 2018 (Jan to April). UL advises that the increase is growth in demand and an increase in the number of urgent referrals are the main reasons for these increases.

The Hospital Group also advises that it continues to explore further waiting list initiatives, including long-waiter clinics and outsourcing, to make further improvements to waiting lists across the Hospital Group.  

In order to address the issue of growing outpatient waiting list numbers, my Department, the HSE and the NTPF are in the process of finalising an Outpatient Action Plan for 2018. This plan will support the HSE’s compliance with its National Service Plan targets, reduce the growth in the number of patients waiting for outpatient services, improve the accuracy of the waiting list, and trial a number of NTPF funded interventions, including weekend and out of hours clinics. I look forward to publishing the plan in the coming weeks.