Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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1917.To ask the Minister for Health the categories of procedure for which the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) have intervened to deal with those waiting an excessively long time; the number of such procedures organised in each category over the past twelve months; and if patients can initiate a request for intervention with the NTPF or whether it is only arranged at the initiative of the hospital or of the NTPF itself.[35845/24]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) procures capacity across a range of high-volume procedures in order to positively impact waiting times for patients. Such procedures may be procured in both private hospitals (outsourcing), or public hospitals (insourcing).

The table below shows details of treatments arranged through the NTPF for Outpatients, Inpatient & Daycase (IPDC), and GI Scopes in 2023 and to the end of August in 2024.

The NTPF works with public hospitals, as opposed to with patients directly, to offer and provide the funding for treatment to clinically suitable long waiting patients who are on an Inpatient/Daycase or Outpatient waiting list. There is good clinical governance and oversight under the current NTPF model of arranging treatment, with the NTPF having oversight of the patient stage of the patient pathway and able to intervene if a patient experiences undue delays.

The key criteria of the NTPF is the prioritisation of the longest waiting patients first. While the NTPF identifies patients eligible for NTPF treatment, it is solely on the basis of their time spent on the Inpatient/Daycase Waiting List. The clinical suitability of the patient to avail of NTPF funded treatment is determined by the public hospital. The availability of capacity for the specific procedure required by the patient is a factor in the selection of treatment provider, as well as the ability and willingness of the patient to travel to another hospital to avail of treatment. The public hospital will also advise if a patient has complex clinical needs and appropriate arrangements can be made to fit the patient profile to the appropriately skilled provider.