Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 28 June 2018
31. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Health the action that will be taken to reduce outpatient waiting times for neurology consultations in University Hospital Limerick in which 443 appointments are outstanding for more than 18 months. [28290/18]
View answerImproving waiting times for hospital procedures and outpatient appointments is a key commitment in the Programme for Government.
The University of Limerick (UL) Hospital Group has advised that all patients who are waiting on outpatient lists, including for neurology, are prioritised according to clinical need. In addition UL Hospitals Group continues to focus on seeing and treating those who have been waiting the longest.
The Hospital Group further advises that neurology outpatient activity at UL has been steadily increasing year-on-year since 2016, and saw a 7% increase from 2017 to 2018 (Jan to April). UL advises that the increase is growth in demand and an increase in the number of urgent referrals are the main reasons for these increases.
The Hospital Group also advises that it continues to explore further waiting list initiatives, including long-waiter clinics and outsourcing, to make further improvements to waiting lists across the Hospital Group.
In order to address the issue of growing outpatient waiting list numbers, my Department, the HSE and the NTPF are in the process of finalising an Outpatient Action Plan for 2018. This plan will support the HSE’s compliance with its National Service Plan targets, reduce the growth in the number of patients waiting for outpatient services, improve the accuracy of the waiting list, and trial a number of NTPF funded interventions, including weekend and out of hours clinics. I look forward to publishing the plan in the coming weeks.
