Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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1029. To ask the Minister for Health if he will guarantee that no patient will have to wait more than six months for health treatments here; and if so, the date he expects to be able to deliver this. [14860/20]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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1030. To ask the Minister for Health the amount he plans to spend on the National Treatment Purchase Fund, NTPF, in 2020. [14861/20]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1029 and 1030 together.

Budget 2020 included an increase in funding for the National Treatment Purchase Fund. This saw the funding of the NTPF increase by €25million to €100million. The year-on-year increases to the National Treatment Purchase Fund since Budget 2017 reflect the Government’s priority to improve waiting times for patients to access hospital treatment.

It was the expectation of the Department that the majority (€69million) of the NTPF funding allocation for 2020 would be expended broadly in line with 2019 levels of activity vis-à-vis IPDC, OPD and GI Endoscopy initiatives. In addition, in 2020, the NTPF would further expand its list of targeted inpatient and day case procedures to support further significant reductions in wait times, with a particular focus on improving access to hospital outpatient services. This would include arranging full care for patients on the outpatient waiting lists, to include the surgery or treatment where required.

A key focus in 2020 was the development of sustainable solutions to tackle waiting lists, in line with the objectives of Sláintecare. In this regard, it was the intention that the additional €25million of the NTPF Budget allocation for 2020 would be used to examine new and innovative solutions.

In response to the Covid-19 pandemic the HSE had to take measures to pause all non-urgent elective scheduled care activity with effect from the end March 2020. This was to ensure patient safety and that all appropriate resources were made available for Covid-19 related activity and time-critical essential work. This decision was in line with the advice issued by National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) and in accordance with World Health Organisation guidelines, and the National Action Plan.

At the end of March, the NTPF advised the Department that in line with the National Action Plan on COVID-19, it was temporarily ceasing the commissioning of both Inpatient / Day case procedures (including GI scopes) and Outpatient appointments. This temporary cessation applied to both insourced and outsourced commissioning.

The National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) has since revised its recommendation on the pausing of all non-essential health services, with a recommendation that the delivery of acute care be determined by appropriate clinical and operational decision making. Application of the essential risk mitigating steps set out in the guidance developed under the auspices of the NPHET Expert Advisory group will have operational implications, which will impact on throughput.

With the increase in elective care activity, the NTPF's Commissioning Team is now working with HSE Hospital Groups and Private Hospitals to establish available capacity for insourcing and outsourcing initiatives from July onwards. Due to the ongoing emergency, the available capacity of the health system, both private and public, is currently being reviewed and it is not yet possible to estimate how much activity will be available for procurement. The Department and the NTPF will engage with each other in order to assess the potential for the NTPF to use its full allocation to purchase additional hospital treatments. In doing so, the NTPF will consider the entire health system, outside of the traditional NTPF areas, including diagnostics and beds.