Vol. 501 No. 3
49 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Health and Children if his attention has been drawn to the concerns, pain and suffering experienced by patients and their relatives forced to remain on waiting lists for prolonged periods; the action or actions, if any, he proposes to take to address these issues with particular reference to life threatening illness; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5957/99]
59 Mr. Shatter asked the Minister for Health and Children the number of persons deleted from the hospital waiting lists as a consequence of the verification of waiting lists undertaken by hospitals and health boards prior to certifying the waiting list figures at 31 December 1998; the number deleted for the reason that those people on the waiting list (a) chose to have the procedure as a private patient or (b) died; and, of those who died, the number of adults and children concerned and the specialties in respect of which they were awaiting in-patient hospital treatment. [5952/99]
79 Mr. Penrose asked the Minister for Health and Children the plans, if any, he has to impose financial penalties on hospitals which do not meet waiting list targets; the nature of the proposed penalties; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5944/99]
81 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Minister for Health and Children the hospital waiting lists on 31 January 1999 by hospital and specialty; the steps, if any, he is taking to ensure that the lists are reduced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5945/99]
89 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Health and Children the number on hospital waiting lists according to the most recent available statistics; the estimated number of people waiting to get on waiting lists; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5954/99]
259 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Health and Children the number of patients in the past 12 months who have been diagnosed as needing hip replacement operations; the number of these patients who have received the relevant treatment within that period; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6228/99]
266 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Health and Children the extent to which hospital waiting lists have been shortened in the past 12 months; if he will give specific statistics in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6235/99]
267 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Health and Children the number of persons diagnosed as needing treatment for the removal of cataracts in the past 12 months; the number of these persons who have received treatment within that period; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6236/99]
I propose to takes Questions Nos. 49, 59, 79, 81, 89, 259, 266 and 267 together.
The report of the review group on the waiting list initiative recommended that my Department should consider introducing positive financial incentives to hospitals to reduce waiting times. In line with this recommendation, I have decided to retain some of the funding available for waiting list initiative work and to redistribute it to those hospitals which show the most progress in reducing their average waiting times.
My Department has notified agencies that they will risk a reduction in their current waiting list funding during 1999 if it becomes clear that they are falling substantially below the targets agreed under their service plan.
The information requested by the Deputy for the period ending 31 December 1998, the latest date for which complete data are available, is being circulated with this reply.
I am fully aware of the difficult situation of patients who are awaiting different surgical procedures. I have recently taken a range of significant initiatives to address the issue of waiting lists and waiting times for public in-patients, details of which I gave the House in an earlier reply.
Public in-patient waiting lists are maintained by every acute hospital in the country. In its recent policy circular on the operation of the waiting list initiative, my Department emphasised to agencies the importance of validating these lists so that an accurate and up-to-date picture of the situation can be available at all times.
Information regarding persons who have been removed from the waiting list or who are waiting to be placed on the waiting list for treatment is not routinely collected by my Department. The number of persons awaiting cataract removals at the end of December 1998 was 3,110, while the number awaiting hip replacements was 1,590.
Table 1.
|
Specialty |
31 December, 1998 |
|
Cardiac Surgery |
1,229 |
|
Cardiology |
1,248 |
|
Chemotherapy |
0 |
|
Dental |
395 |
|
Dermatology |
30 |
|
E.N.T. |
7,722 |
|
Endocrine |
102 |
|
Endocrinology |
0 |
|
Endoscopy |
0 |
|
Gastro-enterology |
173 |
|
Genito-Urinary |
0 |
|
Gerontology |
3 |
|
Gynaecology |
3,016 |
|
Haematology |
1 |
|
Specialty |
31 December, 1998 |
|
Maxillo-Facila |
191 |
|
Medicine |
37 |
|
Metabolic |
0 |
|
Nephrology |
113 |
|
Neurology |
80 |
|
Neurosurgery |
414 |
|
Obstetrics |
0 |
|
Oncology |
0 |
|
Opthalmology |
4,309 |
|
Orthodontics |
0 |
|
Orthopaedics |
7,344 |
|
Paediatrics |
0 |
|
Pain |
388 |
|
Plastic Surgery |
2,057 |
|
Psychiatry |
20 |
|
Radiotherapy |
0 |
|
Rehabilitation |
0 |
|
Respiratory |
115 |
|
Rheumatology |
68 |
|
Surgery |
3,460 |
|
Thoracic |
41 |
|
Urology |
1,530 |
|
Vascular |
2,797 |
|
Total |
36,883 |
Table 2.
|
Cavan General Hospital |
307 |
|
Cork University Hospital |
976 |
|
Ennis General Hospital |
0 |
|
James Connolly Memorial Hospital (Blanchardstown) |
169 |
|
Letterkenny General Hospital |
805 |
|
Longford-Westmeath General Hospital (Mullingar) |
137 |
|
Louth County Hospital, Dundalk |
12 |
|
Mayo General Hospital, Castlebar |
72 |
|
Merlin Park Regional Hospital, Galway |
402 |
|
Naas General Hospital |
148 |
|
Nenagh General Hospital |
0 |
|
Orthopaedic Hospital, Kilcreene |
658 |
|
Our Lady of Lourdes (NEHB) |
128 |
|
Our Lady's General Hospital, Navan |
552 |
|
Our Lady's Hospital, Cashel |
55 |
|
Portlaoise General Hospital |
173 |
|
Regional Hospital (Dooradoyle) Limerick |
1,782 |
|
Regional Orthopaedic Hospital (Croom) |
525 |
|
Roscommon General Hospital |
10 |
|
Sligo Regional Hospital |
1780 |
|
St. Joseph's Hospital, Clonmel |
249 |
|
St. Luke's Hospital, Kilkenny |
631 |
|
St. Mary's Hospital, Gurranebraher |
712 |
|
Tralee General Hospital |
420 |
|
Tullamore General Hospital |
2,260 |
|
University College Hospital, Galway |
3,396 |
|
Waterford Regional Hospital, Ardkeen |
1,315 |
|
Wexford General Hospital |
528 |
|
Beaumont Hospital |
2,487 |
|
Coombe Women's Hospital |
116 |
|
Mater Misericordiae Hospital |
3,855 |
|
Mervy Hospital, Cork |
528 |
|
National Maternity Hospital, Holles St. |
92 |
|
Our Lady's Hospital (Crumlin) |
560 |
|
Portiuncula Hospital (Ballinasloe) |
0 |
|
Rotunda Hospital (Dublin) |
277 |
|
Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital, Dublin |
786 |
|
South Infirmary-Victoria Hospital Ltd. |
928 |
|
St. John's Hospital, Limerick |
170 |
|
St. Mary's Hospital, Cappagh |
1,696 |
|
St. Michael's Hospital, Dún Laoghaire |
239 |
|
St. Vincent's Hospital, Elm Park |
2,547 |
|
St. James's Hospital |
1,996 |
|
Tallaght Hospital |
1,610 |
|
Temple Street Children's Hospital, Dublin |
794 |
|
Total |
36,883 |
Will the Minister indicate what remedy he proposes to address the anxiety, concern and the pain and suffering caused to patients on waiting lists, given their families are concerned particularly where there is a threat to their health? What is the Minister's answer to this? Most of the information he has given, while helpful, is statistical. How will he address the problem?
The review group recommendations must be implemented to deal with this matter a little differently than in the past. It is not simply a question of extra resources. If that was the case, one would have expected the lists to have been reduced. That is why we are moving on all fronts. We are targeting specialties and I am giving waiting list money to those with the most significant waiting lists and times; cardiac surgery and cardiology, ENT, gynaecology, opthamology, orthopaedics, plastic surgery, general surgery, urology and vascular surgery. Funding will be provided under the waiting lists initiative only in respect of these specialties.
Baseline activity is also included in the service plan out of the allocations the hospitals have received for the year. What we are seeking to achieve is outlined in the circular I formulated where it is stated clearly that I want to achieve a significant reduction in the number of public patients awaiting elective procedures and a significant increase in the number of elective procedures being carried out. I have set out the target specialties on which I want a particular emphasis. I will also publish and circulate the waiting lists and times in all hospitals, to try to break some of the GP referral patterns, which do not appear to make much sense; those who already have high numbers on their lists are having more patients referred to them while those with lower numbers are not having any referred to them. I can gauge why that is the case, but I will not say it; although I have told them privately.
That information is necessary because the patient is the person suffering from the deficit in information. If a patient knew he was being referred for a hip replacement to a specialist with a waiting time of 15 months while another consultant has a waiting time of 6 months, he is entitled to ask his GP why he is not being referred to the second consultant. In many instances, that information is not given.
They do not know.
They will know as a result of the information we will circulate. That may change referral patterns, which is an important aspect of these proposals. There are two actions involved; I am holding back money for those who do the work and I am threatening those who do not do it that I will take it from them. We may see some progress then.
Does the Minister agree that for a patient to have the maximum available to him or her, there is a need for new on-line services where up to date information is collated, centrally through his Department, and which is then made available to the public and general practitioners? The manner in which information is currently collated is grossly inadequate in the context of communicating to patients the availability of consultants. What steps is the Minister taking to make this type of information more readily accessible to patients and general practitioners?
There is a need for hospitals, working with their consultants and implementation teams, set up as a result of this circular, to communicate the information quickly. Some hospitals are still doing this manually which is not acceptable. I have stated in a circular that the IT system should be capable of providing me with all the information requested under these guidelines, which require more information from hospitals than previously. In addition to the information currently being provided, I am also asking that the following information be given; the number of baseline activity elective procedures being carried out in addition to what is being done on the waiting list; the number of elective procedures being carried out under the waiting list initiative; the number of persons being added to the waiting list since the end of the previous quarter and the overall net reduction or increase in the numbers waiting since the end of the previous quarter in respect of each of the following; the waiting list for each target specialty provided at the hospital; the average or median waiting time in respect of each specialty; the waiting list of each consultant within each target specialty and the average or median waiting time of each consultant.
I propose to circulate that information as it would be beneficial to make the information on elective procedures, waiting lists and times more transparent for the purposes of GP referrals and as a reference point within and between hospitals. In this context, it is envisaged that further funding will be made available during 1999 under the waiting lists initiative to reward those hospitals which are performing best and achieving, and, or exceeding the targets in their service plan.
The idea is to get more information quickly. There was an indication that I would come into the House without the figures sought by Deputies, which I insisted on getting, and after a push, I got. I am not happy nine weeks later. The circular states six weeks, which gives people plenty of time to compile the information I want. If hospitals are having difficulty giving me that information within six weeks, they need not bother looking for waiting list money at all.
Written Answers follow Adjournment Debate.
