Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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409. To ask the Minister for Health when the National Treatment Purchase Fund will approve funding for a procedure to be carried out for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43507/18]

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. The Inpatient and Daycase Action Plan 2018 outlines the combined impact of Health Service Executive (HSE) and National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) activity in 2018 to reduce the number of patients waiting for treatment. The Plan has already resulted in ongoing improvements with a 16% decrease in the number of patients waiting for procedures since July 2017.

Under the Waiting List Action Plan the NTPF have committed to make offers of treatment to patients waiting for one of 50 high-volume procedures including hip replacement. All patients who are clinically suitable for outsourcing who are waiting more than 9 months for one of these targeted procedures will be offered treatment in 2018 and 2019.  

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.