Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 October 2023
308. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the number of children on paediatric orthopaedic waiting lists for at the end of each quarter and September for each year 2019-2023, inclusive, including the number of suspended cases, by specialty and by location, in tabular form; the number waiting 0-6 months, 6-12 month, 12-18 months, and 18+ months; and the average waiting time of all relevant patients on each list. [45851/23]
View answerIn relation to the particular query raised, the attached table, provided to my Department by the NTPF, shows the number of children on outpatient and inpatient/day case orthopaedic waiting lists, by hospital at the end of each quarter in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023. The figures include patients on the active and suspended waiting lists.
The NTPF has 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.
