Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 27 September 2018
118. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Health the pay arrangements that apply for nurses and consultants involved in a certain hospital activity (details supplied); and the per patient fee for same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39180/18]
View answerThe Outpatient Waiting List remains a significant challenge to be addressed in 2018. Waiting list figures for August 2018 show there are over 514,500 patients on the outpatient waiting list. Each year, 3.3 million patients attend hospital outpatient clinics for appointments.
The HSE, in consultation with the NTPF and the Department of Health, is in the process of finalising an Outpatient Action Plan for the remainder of 2018 which will support the HSE’s compliance with its National Service Plan targets, reduce the growth in the number of patients waiting for outpatient services. The Plan will include initiatives to improve the accuracy of the waiting list through the establishment of central waiting list validation function in the NTPF. In addition, the NTPF has invited proposals from hospital groups, which has resulted in the approval of 12,600 outpatient appointments.
The NTPF will deliver additionality to the health system through both outsourcing and HSE insourcing. NTPF insourcing arrangements are governed by a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the NTPF and the public hospital. In order to avoid double payment to the public hospital, the conditions for insourcing include the following:
The treatment to be provided further to the MoU is additional to and separate from treatment provided further to funding received from any other source, including treatment provided under the National Service Plan.
The cost of the treatment charged to the NTPF shall only relate to the additional costs incurred by the Treating Hospital in providing the required treatment relative to the costs that would have been incurred by the Treating Hospital if the treatment had not been provided.
In relation to the particular question raised regarding Outpatient Clinics, the NTPF does not pay nurses and consultants, payments are made to the hospitals only. The NTPF pays for additional activity only at a marginal cost. Additional activity could cover extra OPD clinics, evening or weekend clinics for instance. The marginal cost can therefore cover overtime paid by the hospital but does not include basic pay.
