Written answers

Wednesday, 22 January 2025

Department of Health

Hospital Waiting Lists

Photo of Pa DalyPa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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1605. To ask the Minister for Health if he will report on hospital waiting lists in Kerry; to provide a breakdown, per hospital of the number on the waiting list; to provide a breakdown of the average length of time spent on waiting list in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and to date in 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1749/25]

Photo of Pa DalyPa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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1680. To ask the Minister for Health the current outpatient waiting lists in University Hospital Kerry, by specialty, in each of the years 2019 to date, in tabular form. [1996/25]

Photo of Stephen DonnellyStephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1605 and 1680 together.

It is acknowledged that many patients are still waiting too long for hospital appointments and treatments. I am conscious of the burden this places on patients and their families.

A multi-annual approach through a series of Waiting List Action Plans has been adopted to address this issue. Commencing in late 2021, these plans encompass short-term actions to increase capacity and activity in the short and immediate term, and longer-term reform measures to sustainably reduce both hospital waiting lists and waiting times.

This approach has 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.

Funding of €420m is being allocated to the Waiting List Action Plan for 2025. The investment clearly demonstrates the Government’s ongoing commitment to sustainably reducing and reforming hospital waiting lists and waiting times. With this significant funding for 2025, we will continue to progress towards a having a public healthcare service in which everyone has timely and transparent access to high-quality scheduled care, where and when they need it.

The information requested by the Deputy regarding outpatient waiting lists in University Hospital Kerry, by specialty, in each of the years 2019 to date, is set out in the attached document. In respect of average waiting times, the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) have advised that the health system does not collect the data necessary to calculate average wait times. In particular, the time to treatment of patients who have already received their care is not collected. The NTPF collects data on patients currently on the waiting list and the average time that these patients have been waiting is provided here.

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