Michael Cahill (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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1721. To ask the Minister for Health if the HSE has adopted a new strategy to deal with public waiting lists; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [58129/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Acute hospital waiting lists are managed in accordance with the relevant National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) Waiting List Management protocols.

The aim of protocol development is to provide guidance to staff working in the area of waiting list management, and to ensure that there is a consistent and standardised user-friendly approach to the active management and scheduling of patients on waiting lists within each Public Hospital and across Health Regions. Further benefits include equity of access for patients, and better data collection and reporting through standardisation.

National Waiting List Management Protocols for Outpatient (OP), Inpatient, Day Case, Planned Procedure (IDPP) & GI Endoscopy, and Radiology Diagnostics are published on the NTPF website: www.ntpf.ie/information-for-healthcare-providers/waiting-list-protocols/

In order to ensure the accuracy of waiting lists, best practice recommends periodic administrative validation. Validation is the process whereby hospital administration contacts patients on waiting lists at pre-planned intervals during the year to ensure that patients are ready, willing, suitable and available to attend a hospital appointment or wish to be removed from the waiting list.

For hospitals to offer the quickest appointments to patients, it is necessary that they continue to check their waiting lists. Unfortunately, some lists are long, and they may therefore need to write to a patient more than once to ensure they still require treatment.