Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 3 October 2019
204. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Health when additional capacity will be provided to improve services and reduce waiting times for assessment and procedure (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40404/19]
View answerReducing waiting time for patients for hospital operations and procedures is a key priority for Government. In this regard, the Government is committed to improving waiting times for hospital appointments and procedures.
Budget 2019 announced that the Government has further increased investment in tackling waiting lists, with funding to the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) increasing from €55 million in 2018 to €75 million in 2019. The joint Department of Health/HSE/NTPF Scheduled Care Access Plan 2019 was published in March and sets out measures to improve access for patients waiting for scheduled care this year. The plan places a strong focus on ten high-volume Inpatient/Day Case procedures.
The NTPF advise that over recent months they have placed a particular focus on engaging with hospital groups and individual hospitals to identify orthopaedic waiting list proposals. The NTPF welcomes proposals from all acute hospitals for initiatives to improve access for patients on waiting lists.
In relation to the particular query raised, as this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly.
