Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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667. To ask the Minister for Health if he will provide an overview on patient waiting lists for cataract surgery in the HSE west region; the number that are waiting; the efforts that are being considered to reduce waiting periods; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6134/22]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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It is recognised that waiting times for scheduled appointments and procedures have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. While significant work continues to positively impact on waiting times and improve pathways to elective care, acute hospitals have been impacted by operational challenges arising from surges in cases related to the Delta and Omicron variants.

As part of the response to this the HSE advised all Hospital Groups to take a series of immediate actions which included a period of prioritising unscheduled care, COVID care and urgent time sensitive work - in particular in Model 4 hospitals. Services are beginning to return to normal but elective procedures continue to be affected by staff absences due to Covid and emergency department pressures that are running above 2019 levels.

The HSE has confirmed to the Department that patient safety remains at the centre of all hospital activity and elective care scheduling. To ensure services are provided in a safe, clinically-aligned and prioritised way, hospitals are following HSE clinical guidelines and protocols.

The Department of Health continues to work with the HSE and the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) to identify ways to improve access to care, including through increased use of private hospitals, funding weekend and evening work in public hospitals, funding “see and treat” services, providing virtual clinics, and increasing capacity in the public hospital system.

In recent years, my Department has worked with the HSE and the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) to improve access for patients waiting for high volume procedures, including cataracts. Ophthalmology services are provided throughout all hospital groups in the country, with cataract removal one of the key procedures carried out as part of this specialty.

A key development in improving access to Ophthalmology services was the opening of a stand-alone high-volume consultant-led cataract theatre by the University of Limerick Hospital Group in Nenagh Hospital in 2018, with the intention that it would facilitate patients from surrounding geographical areas to avail of their treatment there. The impact of such initiatives can be seen in the reduction in the waiting times to access cataract procedures since 2018. At the end of December 2021 there were 4,614 patients waiting for a cataract procedure compared to 6,440 in December 2018.

In addition, the Department of Health, the HSE and the NTPF are also working on a Multi Annual Waiting List Plan to bring waiting lists in line with Sláintecare targets over the coming years. This process will be overseen by a Ministerial Taskforce, chaired by the Secretary General of the Department of Health and includes representatives from the HSE and National Treatment Purchase Fund.

For 2022 an additional allocation of €250 million, comprised of €200 million to the HSE and €50 million to the National Treatment Purchase Fund has been provided in respect of work to reduce hospital and community waiting lists. The €250 million will be used to fund additional activity in both the public and private sectors. The €50 million additional funding provided to the NTPF brings its total allocation for 2022 to €150 million, and as a consequence there will be a budget of €350 million available to support vital initiatives to improve access to acute hospitals and community health services.

The information requested by the Deputy regarding cataract surgery in the HSE west region is outlined in the attached document. The data contained in this document shows the IPDC cataract waiting list for each hospital within the HSE West Region and also shows the IPDC cataract waiting list for patients with an area of residence within the HSE West Region.

IPDC Cataract waits in HSE-West-Region hospitals, as at 23/12/2021

IPDC Cataract waits by Patients with Area Of Residence in HSE-West-Region, as at 23/12/2021