Vol. 555 No. 2
130 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Health and Children if his attention has been drawn to the recent national household survey published by the CSO, which showed that 44,000 people were on in-patient hospital waiting lists; the way in which he reconciles the huge difference between the CSO figures and waiting list figures published by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18061/02]
The quarterly national household survey (QNHS) published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) on the 30 May 2002 produced a set of data on health, including data in relation to waiting lists. Some caution should be exercised in the interpretation of this data as it is not directly comparable with the waiting list information published by my Department. For example, the QNHS survey is based on a person's self-perception of their status, and this may differ from the waiting lists of individual consultants reported to my Department by health agencies; patients waiting less than three months for treatment are excluded from waiting list data published by the Department, but this group is not excluded from the QNHS survey; the figure reported by the CSO includes both public and private waiters and, therefore, is not directly comparable with the Department's published figures for public waiting lists only.
My Department is actively pursuing the commitments in the health strategy in relation to waiting lists, particularly with regard to ensuring consistency and accuracy by health agencies in the return of waiting list information to the Department. While the waiting list initiative will continue to fund additional elective activity, a 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.
