Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 6 November 2012
995. Deputy Martin Heydon asked the Minister for Health the options available to patients who previously would have been able to access treatment under the national treatment purchase fund; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47377/12]
View answerIn July 2011, I announced changes to the remit of the NTPF - namely that it would move from working to largely outsource treatments for those waiting longest, to working with hospitals in a performance improvement capacity to improve access to scheduled care. The NTPF has been aligned with the Special Delivery Unit (SDU) and is now targeting waiting lists strategically and incentivising hospitals to manage their waiting times proactively. The NTPF capability is a core part of the SDU's performance improvement role in holding public hospitals to account.
The target for 2012, as set in the Health Service Executive (HSE) Service Plan 2012, is that no adult shall be waiting more than 9 months for an elective procedure. At the start of 2012 there were a total of 53,513 people who had to be treated by the 30 September 2012 to ensure that nobody was waiting more than 9 months for surgery. As of the 30 September 2012, 51,637 (96%) had been treated.
Should any patient's general practitioner consider that the patient's condition warrants an earlier appointment, he/she would be in the best position to take the matter up with the consultant and hospital involved.
