Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 February 2022
743. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Health the number of cataract surgeries carried out under the National Treatment Purchase Fund in each of the years 2018 to 2021 and to date in 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7857/22]
View answer745. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Health if additional funding has been made available to public hospitals to tackle cataract waiting lists; if funding has been made available to those hospitals for weekend and evening appointments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7859/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 743 and 745 together.
It is recognised that waiting times for scheduled appointments and procedures have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. While significant work continues to positively impact on waiting times and improve pathways to elective care, acute hospitals have been impacted by operational challenges arising from surges in cases related to the Delta and Omicron variants.
The HSE has confirmed to the Department that 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 Department of Health continues to work with the HSE and the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) to identify ways to improve access to care, including through increased use of private hospitals, funding weekend and evening work in public hospitals, funding “see and treat” services, providing virtual clinics, and increasing capacity in the public hospital system.
In recent years, my Department has worked with the HSE and the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) to improve access for patients waiting for high volume procedures, including cataracts. Ophthalmology services are provided throughout all hospital groups in the country, with cataract removal one of the key procedures carried out as part of this specialty.
A key development in improving access to Ophthalmology services was the opening of a stand-alone high-volume consultant-led cataract theatre by the University of Limerick Hospital Group in Nenagh Hospital in 2018, with the intention that it would facilitate patients from surrounding geographical areas to avail of their treatment there. The impact of such initiatives can be seen in the reduction in the waiting times to access cataract procedures since 2018. At the end of January 2022 there were 4,901 patients waiting for a cataract procedure compared to 6,437 in January 2019.
For 2022 an additional allocation of €250 million, comprised of €200 million to the HSE and €50 million to the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) has been provided in respect of work to reduce hospital and community waiting lists. The €250 million will be used to fund additional activity in both the public and private sectors. The €50 million additional funding provided to the NTPF brings its total allocation for 2022 to €150 million, and as a consequence there will be a budget of €350 million available to support vital initiatives to improve access to acute hospitals and community health services.
The 2022 waiting list action plan, which I will bring to Government shortly, builds on the successes of the short-term 2021 plan that ran from September to December last year. The 2021 plan was developed by my Department, the HSE and the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) and was driven and overseen by a senior governance group co-chaired by the Secretary General of my Department and the CEO of the HSE and met fortnightly. This rigorous level of governance and scrutiny of waiting lists has continued into this year with the oversight group evolving into the Waiting List Task Force. It has produced a comprehensive 2022 waiting list action plan which will set out high-level targets for waiting list improvement including dedicated funding for service reform, patient pathway improvement, and important significant additionality to substantially reduce the backlog of patients waiting. The Task Force will meet regularly to drive progress of the 2022 plan.
This is the first stage of an ambitious multi-annual waiting list plan, which is currently under development in my Department. Between them, these plans will work to support short, medium, and long term initiatives to reduce waiting times and provide the activity needed in years to come.
The data requested by the Deputy concerning cataract surgeries carried out under the NTPF, is outlined in the attached document. The NTPF has advised that annual financial statements have not be finalised for 2021 and that an accurate figure for 2022 is not yet available.
Cataracts Treated through NTPF Funding 2018-2021
|
Year |
No. of Cataracts Treated |
|
2018 |
6,707 |
|
2019 |
7,253 |
|
2020 |
5,042 |
|
2021* |
5,922 |
*Please be aware the annual financial statements have not be finalised for 2021
