Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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225. To ask the Minister for Health the number of persons on waiting lists for hip replacements at various hospitals throughout the country; the longest period of time a person has been on this waiting list; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28587/18]

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 in 2018 €50 million was allocated to the NTPF to provide treatment for patients. The recently launched Inpatient/Day Case Action Plan outlines the combined impact of HSE and NTPF activity in 2018 to reduce the number of patients waiting for treatment to below 70,000 in 2018. This plan marks a very important milestone in delivering on this commitment.

In 2018 the NTPF will provide 22,000 inpatient day case procedures though both insourcing and outsourcing, while the HSE will deliver 1.14 million hospital operations or procedures This will mean that by the end of 2018 we will expect to see a significant reduction in the number waiting for a procedure to under 70,000 - from a peak of 86,100 in July 2017.

The Action Plan places a particular focus on hip and knee replacements, with €9.8 million allocated by the NTPF for such procedures. The plan commits to offering procedures to all patients waiting more than 9 months for a hip and/or knee replacement in 2018, if clinically suitable for treatment in an outsourced facility. The NTPF will also offer treatment for a range of other orthopaedic treatments in 2018.

While the improvements set out in the plan are significant, they are just the start, and I am committed to building on this progress with further initiatives to reduce waiting time for patients, including for those patients waiting for an outpatient appointment, within our Health System.

In relation to the specific data requested by the Deputy, a full breakdown of the waiting list for hip replacements is attached to this reply.

Waiting List Totals for Hip Replacements by Hospital by Wait Time Band as at 21/06/2018