Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

227. To ask the Minister for Health the funding drawn down by the National Treatment Purchase Fund in 2017, 2018 and to date in 2019; the amount of funding in each year spent in procuring services from private healthcare providers; and the amount spent in the public system in tabular form. [42819/19]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Programme for Government includes a commitment to improving waiting times for hospital procedures.

In 2017, National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) was initially allocated funding of €15m to address waiting lists.  A further €2.5m was allocated in late 2017 in order to further reduce the number of long-waiting patients and also address those patients waiting for complex treatments such as complex spinal and cardiothoracic surgery. Budget 2018 announced a total allocation of €55 million for the NTPF, and Budget 2019 announced that the Government had further increased investment in tackling waiting lists, with funding to the NTPF increasing to €75 million in 2019.

The NTPF has advised that the funds drawn down in relation to 2017 and 2018 were €17.5m and €55m respectively and estimates that €75m will be drawn down by the end of 2019.

The NTPF further advises that in 2017, patient care expenditure amounted to €13,050,001. Of this amount, €9,948,651 was spent in Private Hospitals and €3,101,350 spent in Public Hospitals.

In relation to expenditure in 2018 and 2019, the NTPF advise that the 2018 and 2019 Annual Financial Statements have not been completed and therefore are not available at this time.