Ivor Callely
Question:181 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Health and Children the breakdown of the waiting lists for each procedure in each health board area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10144/00]
Written Answers. - Hospital Waiting Lists.
The hospital in-patient waiting list data requested by the Deputy is set out on the tables which I have forwarded to the Deputy. These figures are as at 31 December 1999, the latest date for which the information is available.
The multi-faceted nature of the issue of waiting lists was considered by the expert review group which reported to my predecessor in 1998. I am currently reviewing progress to date in the implementation of the wide-ranging measures of a short, medium and longer-term nature recommended in that report. In attaching a serious priority to tackling lengthy waiting lists and times, I believe that there are a number of practical steps that can be taken to accelerate progress, including achieving more flexible use of available capacity and closer collaborative arrangements between the different parts of the system. Taken together with longer-term measures associated with the investment of resources available under the national development plan, my aim is to achieve real progress in addressing the underlying causes of poor accessibility to certain services. I intend to address these issues and am confident of achieving real progress in the area of waiting lists and more importantly waiting times.