Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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917. To ask the Minister for Health the number of persons waiting for orthopaedic surgery in each of the CHO areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14064/19]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Reducing waiting time for patients for hospital operations and procedures is a key priority for Government. Budget 2019 announced that the Government has further increased investment in tackling waiting lists, with funding to the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) increasing from €55 million in 2018 to €75 million in 2019.

The joint Department of Health/HSE/NTPF Scheduled Care Access Plan 2019 was published recently and sets out measures to improve care for patients waiting for scheduled care in 2019 by reducing wait times for inpatient/day case treatment and outpatient appointments. The plan will place a strong focus on a number of high-volume procedures, including hip and knee replacements. When combined with HSE activity, it is projected that the NTPF will be in a position to offer treatment to all clinically suitable patients waiting more than 6 months for one of these procedures.

Waiting list figures for February 2019 show that considerable improvement has been witnessed in the number of patients waiting for hip and knee replacements. As a result of increased activity and the ongoing collaboration between the HSE and the NTPF, the number of patients waiting for a hip/knee replacement has fallen from 3,400  in July 2017 to 2,800 at the end of February 2019 equating to an improvement of 17%. Those waiting over 9 months for one of these procedures has fallen from over 1,000 in July 2017 to 367 in February 2019, a reduction of 64%.

The following .documents provide Inpatient/Daycase waiting list data for Orthopaedics by hospital and by hospital group.

IPDC Orthopaedics Waiting List by Hospital

IPDC Orthopaedics Waiting List by Hospital Group