Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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98. To ask the Minister for Health the extent to which he will consider new initiatives to deal with backlogs and waiting lists in respect of various procedures; if he will consider setting up key medical and surgical groups to deal with such issues as scoliosis, endoscopy, cardiovascular and oncology with a view to achieving specific targets on a weekly and monthly basis, thereby relieving the stress on the system and patients already on unacceptably long waiting lists; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7873/22]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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909. To ask the Minister for Health the extent to which his Department will avail of the help of various consultants throughout the country with particular specialties with a view to reduction in waiting lists for various procedures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8420/22]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 98 and 909 together.

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.

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.

Clinical leadership is central to the delivery of the changes required by our healthcare system and reducing waiting lists. National Clinical Programmes (NCPs) are the vehicle through which multi-disciplinary clinical design leadership and innovation are enabled. Since their inception in 2010, the National Clinical Programmes have been a key transforming force in delivering change and continue to play a strong role in supporting the transformation that is required in healthcare.

The National Clinical Programmes enable surgeons, doctors, nurses, health and social care professionals, and hospital managers with expertise in their clinical service area, to work in collaboration to develop standardised care pathways, clinical guidelines and models of care for the patient journey. These models of care emphasise evidenced-based pathways and new ways of working to support better patient access and quality of care.

NCPs are involved in the development of key national policy strategies, including the National Cancer Strategy. Some of the NCPs include: The Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) programme, The National Clinical Programme for Heart Failure, The National Clinical Programme for Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery, The National Clinical Programme for Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

In addition 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

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 2022 waiting list action plan, which I will be bringing to Government shortly, builds on the successes of the short-term 2021 plan that ran from September to December last year. The 2021 plan was developed by my Department, the HSE and the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) and was driven and overseen by a senior governance group co-chaired by the Secretary General of my Department and the CEO of the HSE and met fortnightly. This rigorous level of governance and scrutiny of waiting lists has continued into this year with the oversight group evolving into the Waiting List Task Force. It has produced a comprehensive 2022 waiting list action plan which will set out high-level targets for waiting list improvement including dedicated funding for service reform, patient pathway improvement, and important significant additionality to substantially reduce the backlog of patients waiting. The taskforce will meet regularly to drive progress of the 2022 plan.

This is the first stage of an ambitious multi-annual waiting list plan, which is currently under development in my Department. Between them, these plans will work to support short, medium, and long term initiatives to reduce waiting times and provide the activity needed in years to come.