Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 20 March 2013
90. Deputy Regina Doherty asked the Minister for Health the actions taken to reduce the waiting times for patients awaiting a routine endoscopy procedure; the impact of these measures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14259/13]
View answerIn 2011, I established the Special Delivery Unit in my Department as set out in the Programme for Government. The aim of the SDU is to unblock access to acute services by improving the flow of patients through the system. The SDU's initial focus was on inpatient and day case waiting times.
With regard to routine endoscopies, for 2012 a target was set that no-one should wait longer than 13 weeks for routine endoscopy. The number of patients waiting over 13 weeks for a routine endoscopy procedure went down from 4,590 in December 2011 to 36 at the end of December 2012, a 99% decrease.
I am determined that the progress made in 2012 be maintained and improved upon and the 13-week target remains in place for 2013. It is important to recognise that the progress made in 2012 does not mean the problem is solved, and 2013 will of course be extremely challenging. For example, winter pressures have impacted on scheduled care waiting times. However, in the coming months, as winter pressures ease, the SDU will work towards re-balancing scheduled care to maintain the improvements seen in 2012.
