Written answers

Tuesday, 23 October 2018

Department of Health

Hospital Waiting Lists

Photo of Bernard DurkanBernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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474. To ask the Minister for Health the extent to which a chain of command exists within the health service in respect of each discipline with particular reference to the need to ensure the abolition of waiting lists and-or identification of their case; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43924/18]

Photo of Simon HarrisSimon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Reducing waiting time for patients for hospital operations and procedures is a key priority for the Government.

This year has seen ongoing improvements with the number of patients waiting for inpatient and day case procedures (IPDC), now at 72,700 from the peak of 86,100 in July 2017, amounting to a 16% reduction. The number of patients waiting over 9 months has reduced from over 28,000 to under 19,200 in the same period equating to a 32% reduction.

In Budget 2019 the Government has further increased investment in this area, with funding to the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) to increase from €55m in 2018 to €75m in 2019.

In 2019, the NTPF plans to deliver 25,000 Inpatient Day Case treatments, building on the 20,000 procedures delivered in 2018. In addition, 5,000 Gastro Intestinal Scopes will be carried out, bringing to 9,000 the additional scope activity provided by the NTPF since the start of 2018. Furthermore, 40,000 Outpatient appointments will be arranged as part of 2019 activity. It is expected that as a result of validation a further 34,000 patients will be removed from the waiting lists by the NTPF Central Validation Unit.

My Department is working closely with the NTPF and the HSE to finalise a coherent Waiting List Action Plan for 2019 before the end of this year. The priority of my Department is to maintain a seamless continuation of the considerable progress made this year into next year.

More broadly, the Sláintecare Implementation Strategy, which was published on 8th August 2018, provides the framework within which a system-wide reform programme will be advanced. It is a further step in the detailed implementation process for this programme and sets out four overarching goals and ten high-level strategic actions which will be the key focus for the first three years of the reform programme. At its core, the strategy focuses on establishing the building blocks for a significant shift in the way in which health services are delivered in Ireland.

The recent Budget provided an increase of €1.05 billion in Health funding. This brings the health budget for 2019 to €17 billion. This is the highest level of Health investment in the history of the State. This will allow the health service to meet additional demands due to the demographic pressure of a growing and ageing population. The additional funding provided as part of Budget 2019 will directly support a range of additional services including initiatives proposed in the Sláintecare Report and committed to in the Sláintecare Implementation Strategy.

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