Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 12 July 2018
480. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Health his views on concerns expressed by surgeons (details supplied) in the north west (details supplied); if requests for dedicated surgical elective beds, enhanced emergency general surgery access and additional services after hours and at the weekend to deal with the waiting list will be responded to; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32182/18]
View answerImproving waiting times for hospital procedures is a key commitment in the Programme for Government. Investing in additional capacity, including beds and theatre space; the progression of recruitment and retention of staff; the delivery of the NDP project including dedicated elective only hospitals and the ambitious reform agenda in the SláinteCare Report will improve waiting times and access for patients.
As Minister for Health, I am committed to continuing the efforts to address the capacity of the hospital system and in particular its ability to respond during periods of peak demand. In this context, I have asked my Department to work with the HSE to identify the location and mix of beds across the hospital system, which can be opened and staffed this year and into 2019 in order to improve preparedness for Winter 2018/2019.
A submission received from the HSE in this regard is currently under consideration by my Department. I can confirm that this proposal includes both new beds which incur capital costs and new beds within existing space which have little or no capital cost requirement.
There are also a number of waiting list initiatives currently underway to improve access this year. In particular, the Inpatient and Day Case Action Plan which was launched in April 2018 and the allocation of €50 million to the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) in Budget 2018 to secure treatment for patients and reduce waiting times.
The NTPF have provided funding for a number of outsourcing initiatives across the Saolta University Health Care Group and including Letterkenny University Hospital (LUH). As a result, these almost 500 patients have received treatment through both outsourcing and HSE insourcing initiatives.
The HSE also advise that LUH have also run additional lists in order to address waiting times in urology, general surgery and endoscopy. Furthermore LUH have commenced a cross-border initiative in conjunction with CAWT for patients on vascular waiting lists. Patients that require varicose vein surgery will be offered treatment in the Western Trust, thus reducing the number of patients awaiting vascular surgery on Letterkenny waiting lists.
Data from the NTPF shows that the inpatient/daycase waiting list for LUH have seen improvements to date this year reducing from 3646 in January to 3,146 at the end of June. While performance since June 2017 has also seen some improvements when it stood at 3,299. Figures also show that at the end of June 2018, 67% of patients are on the waiting list 6 months or less.
