Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

501. To ask the Minister for Health the number of patients currently awaiting dermatology service in each of the main hospitals; the extent to which modern services continue to be made available through the private or public sector; if the most efficient use of both services is being availed of at present; if administrative changes are required to maximise the availability of expertise in this area with a view to dramatically reducing the number of patients on hospital waiting lists for dermatology services; the new services or technologies that have been deployed recently for dermatology; the hospitals, if any, that are not using such new services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2770/23]

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

It is recognised that waiting times for many scheduled appointments and procedures were too long before and have been made worse by the Covid-19 pandemic. While significant work continues to positively impact on waiting times and improve pathways to elective care, acute hospitals are still impacted by operational challenges arising from the pandemic and the current pressures on Emergency Departments.

The Health Service Executive (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.

The 2022 Waiting List Action Plan set targets to reduce both the number of people waiting for care and the length of time they are waiting. Positive progress was made in 2022 in relation to both targets, despite negative impacts throughout the year on scheduled care from continued COVID-19 surges, emergency department pressures and other operational factors, including staff hiring. In 2022, there were c.1.56m patients removed from the Waiting list and c.1.53m patients added to the waiting list – a net reduction of c.30k (4%). Long waiters were significantly reduced in 2022: the number of patients exceeding the 18-month maximum wait time target for new outpatient (OPD) appointments target decreased by c.59.0k (38.5%) and the number of patients exceeding the 12-month maximum wait time target for in-patient day case (IPDC) procedures and GI Scopes has decreased by c3.8k (22.6%) and c.3.5k (86.5%) respectively.

Through the 2022 Plan, €350m funding was allocated to the HSE and the NTPF to provide additional public and private activity to reduce the waiting list backlogs that were exacerbated during the Pandemic, but also as the first stage of an ambitious multi annual approach, to lay the foundations for important reforms that will deliver sustained reductions in waiting lists.

For 2023, funding of €443 million is being allocated to tackle Waiting Lists, some €360m of which is targeted at acute hospital waiting lists. The plan to utilise this part of the funding is being developed by the Department of Health in conjunction with the HSE and NTPF. This will include details of new capacity planned for 2023 as well as important reforms that will improve capacity in the public hospital system.

The NTPF have advised my department that they approved In-sourcing Outpatient (OPD) Dermatology initiatives for funding to date in 2023 for hospitals nationally which will facilitate treatment for 12,278 patients on Dermatology Outpatient waiting lists. Details of these initiatives are provided in the attached document.

In relation to the query raised by the Deputy regarding the number of patients currently awaiting dermatology service in each of the main hospitals, the NTPF provides a breakdown of the IPDC and OPD waiting list figures by adult and child, nationally, by hospital, and by specialty. Current and past waiting list data from 2014 is available on the NTPF website, with open data source information also available for public analysis. The NTPF collates and publishes Inpatient/Daycase and Outpatient waiting list data monthly on the NTPF website – ntpf.ie/home/nwld.html