David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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650. To ask the Minister for Health the total number of patients over the age of 75 who have waited over 12 months on an outpatient waiting list from 2010 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17449/22]

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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651. To ask the Minister for Health the total number of patients over the age of 75 who have waited over six months on an in-patient waiting list from 2010 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17450/22]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 650 and 651 together.

The National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) has provided the attached document which outlines the number of patients over 75 years of age who were on the IPDC waiting list 0-6 months and over 6 months and the number waiting 0-12 months and over 12 months on the OPD waiting list. The data is provided in respect of the end of December each year from 2014 to 2021. In relation to the particular query raised, it should be noted that 2014 is the earliest publication date of waiting list figures.

The NTPF has also provided the mean and median waiting times for patients over 75 who were on the waiting list at the end of December each year from 2014-2021. In relation to mean and median waiting times, the NTPF have advised my Department that the health system does not collect the data necessary to calculate average wait times as the time to treatment of patients who have already received their care is not collected. As a result the mean and media waiting times are based on the information available for the patients on the waiting list at a particular point in time.

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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652. To ask the Minister for Health the total number of patients over the age of 75 who have waited over six months on a diagnostic waiting list from 2010 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17451/22]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The HSE advises that a pilot project 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 Integrated Medical Imaging System (NIMIS) Team, Hospital Groups, and the support of the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) for data collection and data management expertise

The NTPF has advised my Department that they do not currently record the personal data of any of the patients on the Diagnostics waiting list as the purpose of this aggregate data is to provide a National Level overview of the number of patients waiting for modalities of CT, MR and US. This report is not intended to be used for the active management of hospital diagnostics waiting lists- local reports and mechanisms should continue to be used for the management of diagnostics waiting lists at hospital level. 

For this reason, the NTPF is not able to identify whether patients on the Diagnostics waiting list are over or under 75 years of age.