Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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155. To ask the Minister for Health his views on whether the NTPF should be extended to cover children with special needs that are waiting for treatment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43555/18]

Simon 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. In Budget 2019 we have further increased investment in this area, with funding to the National Treatment Purchase Fund to increase from €55 m in 2018 to €75 m in 2019, an overall increase of 150 % since this government came into office.

In 2019, the NTPF plans to deliver 25,000 Inpatient Day Case treatments, an increase of 5,000 from the 20,000 procedures committed to in the Waiting List Action Plan 2018. Furthermore, 40,000 first outpatient appointments will be arranged as part of the 2019 activity.

NTPF activity next year will cover approximately 50 high to medium volume procedures and will be through a combination of treating patients in outsourced facilities and supporting the public system initiatives. In addition, the NTPF will take a targeted approach in 2019 for procedures not included in the high to medium volume bracket.

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 the year. The priority of my Department is to maintain a seamless continuation of the considerable progress made this year into next year. This will include the continuing engagement of the NTPF with the HSE and public hospitals, inviting proposals for waiting list initiatives either through the private sector or through public sector insourcing. The NTPF will provide funding to the solutions proposed if appropriate.

In terms of treatment offers, the NTPF authorises public hospitals to offer outsourced treatment to clinically suitable long waiting patients who are on an inpatient/day case waiting list for surgery, having been referred on to such a list following clinical assessment by a consultant/specialist at an outpatient clinic. NTPF authorisations are made in respect of the longest waiting patients first.