Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 October 2019
239. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Health the number of persons waiting for oral maxilla facial services at Beaumont Hospital, Dublin 9, as of 30 September 2019; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40729/19]
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.
The latest published NTPF figures show that there are 21 patients on the Beaumont Hospital Inpatient/Daycase (IPDC) waiting list for a Maxillo-Facial procedure. The NTPF figures also show that there are 31 patients on the Beaumont Hospital Maxillo-Facial Outpatient waiting list.
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 NTPF advise that over recent months they have placed a particular focus on engaging with hospital groups and individual hospitals to identify waiting list proposals.
