A detailed review of all aspects of the health services was conducted by my Department last year, in consultation with relevant interests and the general public, as part of the lead in to the preparation of a new Health Strategy Quality and Fairness – A Health System for you.
The strategy outlines the largest expansion in services in the history of the Irish health system. A vision has been set out across the full range of care areas for how the system will be developed not just in the short term but over the next decade to deliver high quality care for all. The health strategy outlines a programme of investment and reform of the health services up to 2011. It provides a framework for the reform of the acute hospital system, improved access for public patients and actions to address the issue of waiting lists. The total number of people on public hospital waiting lists at 31 March 2002, the latest date for which figures have been published, was 25,105. The comparable figure for 31 March 2001 was 26,382. This represents a decrease of 5% on the comparable figure for March 2001.
In the period March 2001 to March 2002 there has been a reduction of 62% in the number of adults waiting more than 12 months for cardiac surgery and a reduction of 67% in the number of children waiting more than six months for cardiac surgery. There has been a reduction of 34% in the number of adults waiting for more than 12 months for ENT procedures and a fall of 33% in the number of adults waiting more than 12 months for ophthalmology procedures in the period March 2001 to March 2002.
A new dedicated national treatment purchase fund is being used to target those waiting longest for treatment by purchasing treatments for public patients in private hospitals. The national treatment purchase fund expects to treat up to 1,900 patients this year.
As part of the preparatory work for the strategy my Department conducted a comprehensive review of acute hospital bed capacity needs. On foot of this review, the Government decided to provide an additional 3,000 beds in acute hospitals over the next ten years. This represents the largest ever concentrated expansion of acute hospital capacity in Ireland.
Earlier this year I announced the first phase of these additional beds with the commissioning of an extra 709 beds in acute hospitals at a cost of €65 million. I am pleased to inform the Deputy that 258 of these beds have been commissioned under this initiative to date. The latest advice to my Department from the Eastern Regional Health Authority and the health boards indicates in excess of 600 beds will be in place by year end and that the remainder will be commissioned early in the new year.
The health strategy also provides for the formulation of a plan for the future development of the maternity services. The objective of this development will be to ensure that maternity care is woman-centred, equitable across the country, safe and accountable.
I have taken a number of measures to improve orthodontic services on a national basis, including the creation of a grade of specialist in orthodontics in the health board orthodontic service. Additional funding of €6.729 million was approved for orthodontic services last year of which €4.698 million was to fund an initiative on orthodontic waiting lists. Last June, my Department provided additional funding of €5 million from the national treatment purchase fund to health boards specifically for the purchase of orthodontic treatment.
The chief executive officers of the health boards have informed me that at the end of the June 2002 quarter, there were 19,055 patients in orthodontic treatment in the health boards. This is an increase of 3,528 patients in orthodontic treatment when compared with the number of patients in treatment in June 2001. I expect that the number of patients in orthodontic treatment will continue to increase as the measures that I have taken to improve orthodontic services take effect.
