Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1741. To ask the Minister for Health the way that he proposes to address excessive waiting times for gynaecological appointments at Ennis General Hospital, County Clare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20794/22]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The 2022 Waiting List Action Plan, which was launched on the 25th of February, allocates €350 million to the HSE and NTPF to reduce waiting lists. Under this plan the Department, HSE, and National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) will deliver urgent additional capacity for the treatment of patients, as well as investing in longer term reforms to bring sustained reductions in waiting lists.

Gynaecology waiting lists are a priority area of focus of this plan. The NTPF have advised my Department that to date this year they have approved a gynaecology outpatient initiative at Ennis General Hospital which will facilitate appointments for 644 patients on gynaecology outpatient waiting lists.

More broadly, the Waiting List Action Plan builds on the successes of the short-term 2021 plan that ran from September to December last year. The 2021 plan was developed by the Department of Health, the HSE and the NTPF and was driven and overseen by a senior governance group co-chaired by the Secretary General of the Department of Health 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. The Task Force will meet regularly to drive progress of the 2022 plan.

This is the first stage of an ambitious multi-annual waiting list programme, which is currently under development in the Department of Health. 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.