The National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) works with public hospitals, as opposed to with patients directly, to offer and provide the funding for treatment to clinically suitable long waiting patients who are on an inpatient/day case waiting list for surgery, having been referred on to such a list following clinical assessment by a consultant/specialist at an outpatient clinic.
The key criteria of the NTPF is the prioritisation of the longest waiting patients first. While the NTPF identifies patients eligible for NTPF treatment, it is solely on the basis of their time spent on the Inpatient/Daycase Waiting List. The clinical suitability of the patient to avail of NTPF funded treatment is determined by the public hospital.
In relation to the particular query raised by the Deputy, the NTPF has outlined in the attached tables, the number of GI Scope treatments arranged for patients on the GI waiting list at University Hospital Kerry (UHK) and the numbers of patients treated through insourcing and outsourcing in 2020 and 2021. The NTPF has advised that to date in 2022, no GI Scope treatments have been arranged for patients on the UHK GI waiting list.
In terms of activity, in 2020 136 GI Scopes were arranged through insourcing activity, with 124 patients treated. There was no outsourcing activity for GI Scopes in 2020. In 2021 treatment for 321 patients was arranged through insourcing, with 262 patients treated, while treatment for 215 patients was arranged through outsourcing, with 200 patients treated. This information is set out in the attached table, provided to my Department by the NTPF.
The NTPF has advised that a difference between the number of treatments arranged and the number of patients treated arises as patients can decline offers of treatment for a number of reasons, including because they want to remain with the public hospital, they are not clinically suitable for treatment, they no longer require treatment, or have been treated.
In 2020 €108,800 was paid to UHK for insourced GI Scope activity, while in 2021 €256,800 was paid to UHK for insourced scope activity. The NTPF has advised my Department that under outsourcing arrangements the NTPF pays the private hospitals directly and as such there is no funding allocated to the public hospitals themselves.
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Insourcing Funding by year
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2020
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2021
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Amount of Funding Provided
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€108,800.00
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€256,800.00
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GI CANs Issued to University Hospital Kerry 2020
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2020
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2020
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Treatments Arranged
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No. of patients treated
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Insourcing
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136
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124
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Outsourcing
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0
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0
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Total
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136
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124
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GI CANs Issued to University Hospital Kerry 2021
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2021
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2021
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Treatments Arranged
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No. of patients treated
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Insourcing
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321
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262
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Outsourcing
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215
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200
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Total
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536
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462
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CAN = Case Authorisation Number - Authorisation for Treatment issued by NTPF
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