Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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604. To ask the Minister for Health the number of procedures procured by the National Treatment Purchase Fund in each year since its restoration in 2017; and the type and specialties of procedures in tabular form. [30998/19]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Improving waiting times for hospital procedures is a key commitment in the Programme for Government and in 2017 €20 million was allocated to the NTPF to provide treatment for patients. Budget 2018 announced a total 2018 allocation of €55m which more than doubled it’s 2017 total allocation. 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/National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) Scheduled Care Access Plan 2019 was published in March and sets out measures to improve care for patients waiting for scheduled care in 2019 by reducing waiting times for inpatient/day case treatment and outpatient appointments. The plan places a strong focus on ten high-volume Inpatient/Day Case procedures. 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 high-volume procedures.

In addition, the NTPF will arrange 8,000 procedures across an expanded range of over 65 other procedures in 2019.

In relation to the particular question raised by the Deputy, the attached tables provide details of the number of procedures procured by the NTPF since 2017.

The NTPF has provided the following additional information:

With regard to Inpatient / Day case (IP / DC), the following procedures are provided in Private Hospitals, funded through the NTPF:

Adenoidectomy

Angiogram

Arthoscopy of Ankle DC

Arthoscopy of Ankle IP

Arthoscopy of Shoulder DC

Arthoscopy of Shoulder IP

Arthroscopy of knee DC

Arthroscopy of shoulder, diagnostic with or without synovial biopsy

Arthroscopy of shoulder, surgical, with removal of loose body or foreign body, synovectomy debridement

Bilateral hernia repair

Cardioversion

Carpal Tunnel

Cataracts

Cervical Discectomy IP

Circumcision DC Adults

Circumcision IP Adults

Circumcision DC Paeds

Circumcision IP Paeds

Colonoscopy

Correction of Protruding ears (Bilateral)

Cystoscopy Day case

Endoscopy / Gastroscopy

Excision Lesion General

Excision Lesion Plastics

Excision of hydrocele, bilateral

Excision of hydrocele, unilateral

Grommets

Hip Replacement

Hysteroscopy with dilatation and curettage (diagnostic or therapeutic)

Interruption of sapheno-femoral junction varicose veins

Knee Replacement

Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy daycase and inpatient

Laparoscopy with/without D&C and with/without biopsy

Lumbar Discectomy IP

Myringoplasty

Myringotomy bilateral and Grommets Paeds DC

Myringotomy bilateral paeds DC

Nasal / Sinus Endoscopy DC

Nasal / Sinus Endoscopy IP

Protoscopy / Sigmoidoscopy DC

Repair of incisional hernia

Repair of umbilical hernia

Resection Ingrown Toenail DC

Rhinoplasty DC

Removal of Pin Screw Wire DC

Removal of Pin Screw Wire IP

Removal of Plate Rod Nail DC

Removal of Plate Rod Nail IP

Septoplasty DC

Septoplasty IP

Septorhinoplasty - ENT

Septorhinoplasty - Plastics

Strabismus procedure involving 1 or 2 muscles, one eye

Surgical removal of unspecified number of teeth requiring removal of bone - to be performed by a maxillofacial surgeon

Tonsils Adult

Tonsils Paeds

Transurethral resection of prostate [TURP]

Tympanoplasty IP Adult

Tympanoplasty DC Adult

Tympanoplasty IP Paeds

Tympanoplasty DC Paeds

Ureteroscop

Urethroscopy, diagnostic, with or without biopsy

Varicose Veins

The above is not an exhaustive list but covers most of the current procedures. There are also a broader range of procedures that are provided through public hospitals.

In addition the NTPF has tendered for the following procedures:

Excision of chalazions, papillomas, dermoids or other cysts or lesions, one or both eyelids, involving skin, lid margin, tarsus and or palpebral conjuctiva

Excision of pterygium

Excision of pterygium and conjunctival graft

Reconstruction of eyelid

Syringing and / or probing of lacrimal passages, unilateral or bilateral

Hallux valgus, bilateral

Hallux valgus, unilateral

Reconstruction of eyelid

Excision of epididymal cyst, bilateral

Excision of epididymal cyst, unilateral

Orchidectomy, bilateral

Orchidectomy, unilateral

Orchidopexy for undescended testis, bilateral, with or without inguinal hernia repair

Orchidopexy for undescended testis, unilateral, with or without inguinal hernia repair

Repair of Variocele

Vasectomy, bilateral

Cardiac electrophysiological study with radiofrequency ablation

Anorectal examination

Excision of anal skin tag

Haemorrhoidectomy, external, multiple

Cauterisation of ectropion

Cauterisation of entropion

Dacryocystorhinostomy [DCR]

Repair of epigastric hernia

Fundoplasty, laparoscopic approach

Orchidopexy for undescended testis, bilateral, with or without inguinal hernia repair

Orchidopexy for undescended testis, unilateral, with or without inguinal hernia repair

The NTPF will take a targeted approach in 2019 and further procedures will be tendered for, depending on inter alia what procedures there are long waiters for and their suitability for outsourcing next year. In addition the NTPF will continue many of the procedures listed above next year and also continue to fund insourcing of long waiting patients within the Public hospitals.

NTPF Funded Treatments 2017 to 2019