Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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793. To ask the Minister for Health the number of people on the public waiting list for cataract removal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29906/24]

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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794. To ask the Minister for Health the number of people from Kerry on the public waiting list for cataract removal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29907/24]

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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797. To ask the Minister for Health the current waiting time on a consultation for cataract surgery in a facility (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29911/24]

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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798. To ask the Minister for Health the current waiting time for cataract surgery in a facility (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29912/24]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 793, 794, 797 and 798 together.

It is acknowledged that many patients are still waiting too long for hospital appointments and treatments.

As part of the multi-annual approach to reducing waiting lists, and just as importantly the length of time that patients are waiting, I published the 2024 Waiting List Action Plan on 27th March. Total funding of €360 million has been provided for the plan this year which sets out 19 Actions across three themes: Delivering Capacity, Reforming Scheduled Care and Enabling Scheduled Care Reform.

The Waiting List Action Plan multi-annual approach, initiated in 2021, encompasses a two-pronged approach of short-term actions to increase capacity and activity in the immediate term, and longer-term reform measures to sustainably reduce and reform hospital waiting lists and waiting times.

The 2024 Plan builds on the work of previous plans which have achieved significant progress in overall waiting list reduction and in addressing long waiting times, against a backdrop of significantly increased demand for scheduled care services. This year’s plan aims to achieve a reduction in the overall number of patients on waiting lists while three of the four overarching targets in the Plan are specifically focused on improving waiting times.

With regard to the information requested by the Deputy concerning cataract waiting lists, the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) have advised that there are 5,768 patients on the public waiting list for cataract surgery. Of these, there are 70 patients on the list with an area of residence in County Kerry.

In regard to the length of time patients are on the cataract surgery waiting list in South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital (SIVUH), the NTPF have advised that the total number of patients waiting on that list is 395, of those, 322 patients are waiting between 0 to 6 months and a further 70 patients are waiting between 6 and 12 months. The remaining three patients are waiting outside of those time bands.

The NTPF have further advised that the detail in the outpatient waiting list does not go beyond specialty level, so detail in respect of the number of patients waiting for an outpatient consultation for cataracts is not available separately and would be included in the OPD waiting list for Ophthalmology.