Written answers

Wednesday, 18 December 2019

Department of Health

Health Services Data

Photo of James BrowneJames Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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275. To ask the Minister for Health the number of children in County Wexford awaiting an appointment for hospital treatment; the number waiting less than 12 months; the number waiting more than 12, 24, 36 and 48 months, respectively; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53513/19]

Photo of James BrowneJames Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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276. To ask the Minister for Health the number of children in County Wexford awaiting a diagnostics appointment; the number waiting less than 12 months; the number waiting more than 12, 24, 36 and 48 months, respectively; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53514/19]

Photo of James BrowneJames Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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278. To ask the Minister for Health the number of children in County Wexford awaiting an ENT appointment; the number waiting less than 12 months; the number waiting more than 12, 24, 36 and 48 months, respectively; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53516/19]

Photo of James BrowneJames Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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279. To ask the Minister for Health the number of children in County Wexford awaiting a tonsil appointment; the number waiting less than 12 months; the number waiting more than 12, 24, 36 and 48 months, respectively; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53517/19]

Photo of James BrowneJames Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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280. To ask the Minister for Health the number of children in County Wexford awaiting a treatment purchase fund appointment; the number waiting less than 12 months; the number waiting more than 12, 24, 36 and 48 months, respectively; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53518/19]

Photo of Simon HarrisSimon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 275, 276 and 278 to 280, inclusive, together.

Reducing waiting time for patients for hospital operations and procedures is a key priority for Government. In this regard, the Government is committed to improving waiting times for hospital appointments and procedures.

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 NTPF to develop the Scheduled Care Access Plan 2020. The National Service Plan 2020 will set out HSE 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 relation to the specific queries regarding children in County Wexford, the NTPF has provided the data requested for Outpatient, Inpatient /Day Case, ENT and Tonsils waiting lists, in the following tables.

With regard to children in County Wexford who are waiting for a diagnostic appointment, the HSE advise that a pilot project was commenced in 2016 by the HSE Acute Hospitals Division to progress the collection of national radiology waiting list data. The project has been supported by the Radiology Clinical Care Programme and has involved key stakeholders across the system including the National NIMIS Team, Hospital Groups, and the support of the National Treatment Purchase Fund for data collection and data management expertise

The National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) further advise that they do not currently store patient demographic data (including names, addresses or dates of birth) for patients on the Diagnostics waiting list and hence do not have the data to provide an answer to this query. The Diagnostics waiting list data is aggregated to provide a National Level overview of the number of patients waiting for modalities of CT, MRI and Ultrasound. The data is not intended to be used for the active management of hospital diagnostics waiting lists.

In relation to the number of children in County Wexford awaiting an NTPF appointment,  the NTPF works with public hospitals, as opposed to with patients directly, to offer and provide the funding for treatment to clinically suitable long waiting patients who are on an inpatient/day case waiting list for surgery, having been referred on to such a list following clinical assessment by a consultant/specialist at an outpatient clinic.

The key criteria of the NTPF is the prioritisation of the longest waiting patients first. While the NTPF identifies patients eligible for NTPF treatment, it is solely on the basis of their time spent on the Inpatient/Daycase Waiting List. The clinical suitability of the patient to avail of NTPF funded treatment is determined by the public hospital.

While children with addresses in County Wexford may have been approved for NTPF funded treatment, the NTPF issues the authorisation notices to the relevant hospital and does not collate the data by the area of residence of the patients.

Inpatient/Day Case - Children with an Area of Residence in Co.Wexford by Wait Time Band as at 28/11/2019

< 12 Months 12-24 Months 24-36 Months 36-48 Months > 48 Months Grand Total
Grand Total
129
25
16
1
1
172
Otolaryngology (ENT) Inpatient/Day Case Waiting List for Children with an Area of Residence in Co. Wexford by Wait Time Band as at 28/11/2019
< 12 Months 12-24 Months 24-36 Months 36-48 Months > 48 Months Grand Total
Grand Total
16
0
0
0
1
17
Inpatient/Day Case Waiting List for a Tonsils Procedure for Children with an Area of Residence in Co. Wexford by Wait Time Band as at 28/11/2019
< 12 Months 12-24 Months 24-36 Months 36-48 Months > 48 Months Grand Total
Grand Total
5
0
0
0
1
6
Waiting List for a first Outpatient Appointment for Children with an Area of Residence in Co. Wexford by Wait Time Band as at 28/11/2019
< 12 Months 12-24 Months 24-36 Months 36-48 Months > 48 Months Grand Total
Grand Total
1314
469
273
97
17
2170

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