Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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330. To ask the Minister for Health to indicate the degree to which he and his Department continue to evaluate the needs of patients seeking various treatments such as cardiology, oncology, endoscopy, urology and neurology treatments; the efforts being made to ensure urgent patients are being treated as quick as possible; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2327/24]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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331. To ask the Minister for Health to indicate the immediate efforts that continue to be made to review the most acute hospital waiting lists throughout the country on a regular basis in order to target those areas particularly affected by long waiting lists and delays; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2328/24]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 330 and 331 together.

The multi-annual approach to reforming and reducing waiting lists and waiting times, which began in Q4 2021, is a key reform initiative under Sláintecare.

The core target of achieving a 10% reduction in the number of patients breaching the Sláintecare waiting times was exceeded, with an 11% reduction achieved, and the target of removing approximately 1.66 million patients from waiting lists in 2023 was exceeded by 5%. This covers inpatients, day case, outpatients and GI scopes.

Since the pandemic peaks there has been a 27%reduction in the number of people waiting longer than the Sláintecare targets, which equates to nearly 170,000 people.

However, when compared to both 2022 and the pre-pandemic period of 2019, the level of additions to our waiting lists also increased significantly last year. Despite this, 2023 was the second year in row that our total waiting lists fell, with over 177,000 more patients removed from the lists than 2022. They also fell in 2022, which was the first annual decrease in national hospital waiting lists since 2015.

Officials in my Department have continuous engagement with the National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP) on the implementation of the National Cancer Strategy. A particular focus of this engagement is on the continued implementation models of care, developed under the Strategy, which set out patient pathways in cancer care services.

Under the 2023 Waiting List Action Plan, several reform initiatives are being progressed by the HSE to support improvement in operational efficiencies in hospitals, to create a sustainable system to maximise capacity within Outpatients.

In 2024 a further €407 million in funding will be allocated across acute hospital and community services. This includes €332 million for the 2024 WLAP, which is currently being developed by my Department and the HSE.