Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 15 May 2019
164. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health his views on whether it is acceptable that patients at some hospitals are being given only two days' notice to attend surgical appointments and if they miss the appointment they are then struck off the waiting list. [20977/19]
View answerIn 2016, my Department commissioned the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) to lead the development of a technical guidance protocol for the management of Inpatient, Day Case, Planned Procedure (IDPP) waiting lists. The purpose of this protocol is to ensure the highest standards in terms of waiting list data quality, and to promote optimal practice for the management and scheduling of patients on IDPP hospital waiting lists in Ireland.
The National IDPP Waiting List Management Protocol 2017 (published on the NTPF website), was developed to provide guidance to ensure that there is a consistent and standardised approach to the management and scheduling of patients on Inpatient, Day Case and Planned Procedure waiting lists within each hospital and across hospital groups. The purpose of this protocol is to ensure the safe, timely and effective access and treatment of patients in a fair and equitable manner.
The IDPP Protocol refers to reasonable notice of a scheduled To Come In (TCI) date of two weeks. In the event that a TCI date becomes available at short notice, the available slot should be offered to the next suitable patient in strict chronological order. Patients who decline this offer will not have their waiting list clock reset (or be removed from the waiting list), unless they are in receipt of a reasonable offer (two weeks’ notice).
In relation to the particular issue raised, as this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy.
