Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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226. To ask the Minister for Health the number of spinal fusion patients waiting less than four months in Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin and Temple Street Children’s University Hospital; the number waiting four to eight and more than eight months for treatment; and if the same information will be provided for other spinal patients in tabular form. [11284/19]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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In relation to the particular query raised, as this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly.

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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227. To ask the Minister for Health the number of public patients who were removed from outpatient lists each month in 2018 as a result of validation exercise and not as a result of having an appointment with a consultant in each public and voluntary hospital in tabular form. [11285/19]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Good practice around the management of hospital waiting lists recommends periodic validation of waiting lists.

Validation is the process whereby hospital administration contacts patients on waiting lists at pre-planned intervals during the year to ensure that patients are ready, willing, suitable and available to attend a hospital appointment or wish to be removed.

Importantly, the validation process allows for situations where, if requested by the GP/referring clinician, patients can be reinstated back to their original place on to the Waiting List.

The HSE has advised that there has been no change to the figures provided to the Deputy in a letter dated 18 December, which I attach for convenience, and sets out details of the number of patients who were validated off the Outpatient Waiting List through the HSE validation exercise undertaken in 2018.

Last year, I approved the establishment of a Central Waiting List Validation Office within the NTPF. The new office delivers a standardisation of approach to validation across all waiting lists and all hospitals in line with the best patient-centred practices. The validation of waiting lists better informs the true demand for hospital services and enable improved efficiency and patient scheduling.

The Central Waiting List Validation Office has advised that no patients were removed from the Outpatient waiting list in 2018, as a result of their validation processes.

The figures provided to the Deputy on 18 December are contained in the link below.