Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 November 2021
593. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the funding drawn down by the National Treatment Purchase Fund in each of the years 2017 to 2020, inclusive, and to date in 2021, in tabular form; the amount of funding in each year spent on procuring services from private healthcare providers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57027/21]
View answerImproving access to Scheduled Care and reducing waiting time for patients for hospital operations and procedures is a key priority for Government. The year-on-year increases to the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) since Budget 2017 reflect this priority and Budget 2021 saw the funding of the NTPF increase by €25million to €130million. There was further increase announced in Budget 2022 and the total allocation for 2022 is €150 million
The NTPF procures capacity for high-volume procedures in order to positively impact waiting time for patients. Such procedures may be procured in both private hospitals (outsourcing), or public hospitals (insourcing). In order to ensure competitive pricing as part of their outsourcing programme, the NTPF works with private hospitals from a panel agreement and engages in procurement processes through e-tender. In relation to insourcing, a public hospital may have some spare capacity but require further funding in order to utilise it. Such public hospitals may make a proposal to the NTPF, whereby the NTPF pay a fixed price per procedure performed. The amount paid by the NTPF meets the extra costs incurred by the public hospital in performing the procedures.
The information requested by the Deputy in relation to the funding drawn down by the National Treatment Purchase Fund in each of the years 2017 to 2020, and the amount of funding in each year spent on procuring services from private healthcare providers, is outlined in the attached document.
The information provided is based on data sourced from NTPF Annual Financial Statements. The NTPF has advised that 2021 financial data has not been provided as the Audited Annual Financial Statements 2021 have not yet been finalised.
