Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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196. To ask the Minister for Health the extent to which waiting lists for orthopaedic treatment has improved in the past five years and likely to continue to improve in the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41521/19]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Reducing waiting times for hospital appointments and procedures is a key commitment of government.

The waiting list data for Orthopaedics for the period 2015 to date is attached for the information of the Deputy and shows a stabilisation in the number of patients waiting for an inpatient or daycase procedure. This is despite the increasing demands on our hospital system in recent years. It is also clear from the data that the Outpatient waiting list continues to be a significant challenge with the numbers waiting for an orthopaedic appointment growing year-on-year.

A key element of the Government policy to improve waiting times for hospital appointments and procedures has been the utilisation of the National Treatment Purchase Fund to collaborate with the HSE and the hospital system to provide the additionality needed to narrow the gap between demand and capacity.

In recent years, the National Treatment Purchase Fund has placed a particular focus on funding treatment for particular high-level procedures and specialties and includes hip/knees procedures. Since 2017, the number of patients waiting over 6 months for a hip/knee replacement has reduced by over 60%.

Furthermore, Budget 2020 announced that the Government has further increased investment in tackling waiting lists, with funding to the National Treatment Purchase fund (NTPF) increasing from €75 million in 2019 to €100 million in 2020.

My Department is working with the HSE and National Treatment Purchase Fund to develop the Scheduled Care Access Plan 2020. In this regard, the HSE National Service Plan 2020 will set out a planned activity level for the year ahead, while the NTPF will work with the hospital system to provide additionality to improve access to inpatient/daycase treatment and with a particular focus on hospital outpatient services.

In this regard, I would encourage all hospital groups and individual hospitals to engage with the NTPF to identify waiting list proposals, including for orthopaedic services, for the remainder of this year and for 2020.