Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 15 September 2021
745. Deputy Richard O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Health if discussions are expected on the way waiting times in hospitals for outpatient appointments can be reduced; if other options will be examined to ease the crisis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44058/21]
View answerIt is recognised that waiting times for scheduled appointments and procedures have been impacted in the last eighteen months as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic and more recently as a result of the ransomware attack. While significant progress was made in reducing waiting times from June 2020 onwards, the surge in Covid-19 cases in the first quarter of 2021 and the associated curtailment of acute hospital services, coupled with the ransomware attack of May 2021, has impacted waiting times. However, the HSE advise that acute services are now almost all fully restored to pre-cyber-attack levels and are operating in line with relevant Covid protocols.
My Department, the HSE and the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) are focusing on improving access to elective care in order to reduce waiting times for patients. These plans 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 as outpatient consultations, providing virtual clinics and increasing capacity in the public hospital system.
Last year, in order to continue to provide access for patients during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was considerable growth and investment in virtual outpatient consultations by the HSE for many specialties across the system. While face-to-face consultations have resumed across the system, virtual consultations are still taking place where appropriate, reducing the footfall in hospitals while providing alternative access to outpatient consultations.
The NTPF is working with the HSE and individual hospitals on funding initiatives to outsource outpatient appointments to private hospitals and to increase capacity within public hospitals through evening and weekend clinics.
As part of the overall response to COVID-19, the Convention Centre Facility in City West was acquired by the HSE and a number of hospital groups including Children’s Health Ireland, Dublin Midlands and Ireland East have been using the facility for Outpatient and day case clinics across a range of specialties since September 2020.
An additional €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 NTPF. This is to be used to fund additional capacity to address the shortfall arising as a result of infection control measures taken in the context of COVID-19, as well as addressing backlogs in waiting lists.
My Department, the HSE and the National Treatment Purchase Fund are currently working on a Multiannual Waiting List Plan to address waiting lists and bring them in line with Sláintecare targets over the coming years.
