Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 10 March 2021
861. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the number of patients waiting for a first outpatient appointment with a specialist consultant by wait times (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12976/21]
View answer862. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health if the NTPF will broaden the length of waiting times reported to include periods (details supplied) taking into consideration that some patients wait many years to access a first appointment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12977/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 861 and 862 together.
It is recognised that waiting times for scheduled appointments and procedures have been impacted in the last year as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The HSE is currently recommending that only critical time dependent elective procedures are undertaken at this time due to the on-going and significant increased demand for bed capacity related to Covid-19.
This decision was made arising from the rapid increase in Covid-19 admissions and to ensure patient safety and that all appropriate resources were made available for Covid-19 related activity and time-critical essential work.
Patient safety remains at the centre of all hospital activity and elective care scheduling. To ensure services are provided in a safe, clinically-aligned and prioritised way, hospitals are following HSE clinical guidelines and protocols.
The HSE continues to optimise productivity through alternative work practices such as the use of alternative settings including private hospitals, community facilities and alternative outpatient settings.
In addition the National Treatment Purchas Fund (NTPF) is currently reviewing strategies to maximise activity and benefit for patients, to include, increased use of private hospitals , funding weekend and evening work in public hospitals, funding “ see and treat” services where minor procedures are provided at the same time outpatient consultations, funding hybrid services where public and private hospitals contribute to the treatment of patients, virtual clinics, and clinical validation.
€240 million has been provided in Budget 2021 for an access to care fund, €210m of which has been allocated to the HSE and a further €30m to the National Treatment Purchase Fund. This will be used to fund additional capacity to address the shortfall arising as a result of measures taken in the context of Covid-19, as well as to address waiting lists.
The National Waiting List Management Policy is a standardised approach used by the HSE to manage scheduled care treatment for in-patient, day case and planned procedures. It sets out the processes that hospitals are to implement to manage waiting lists and was developed in 2014 to ensure that all administrative, managerial and clinical staff follow an agreed national minimum standard for the management and administration of waiting lists for scheduled care.
The data requested by the Deputy has been provided to my Department by the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) and is outlined in the attached document. This document provides a breakdown of the over 18-month outpatient waiting list, by the time-bands specified by the deputy, as of the end of January 2021.
The NTPF has advised my Department that they are currently reviewing the published waiting list reports in the context of the separation of adult and child waiting lists. As part of these considerations, they will have regard to the request for greater detail in the published reports for longer waiting time bands. Statistical Disclosure Control (SDC) will also be taken into account in these considerations in order to preserve patient confidentiality.
Total Paitents Waiting for a First Outpatient Appointment over 18 Months by Wait Time Band as at 28/01/2021
|
- |
18-21 Months |
21-24 Months |
24-27 Months |
27-30 Months |
30-33 Months |
33-36 Months |
36-40 Months |
40 Months + |
Grand Total |
|
28/01/2021 |
39428 |
31014 |
19755 |
16305 |
15498 |
11931 |
10938 |
26114 |
170983 |
