Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 March 2022
803. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the targets that have been set for each individual hospital group and each individual hospital in relation to reducing acute waiting lists; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16552/22]
View answerThe 2022 Waiting List Action Plan (WLAP), which I launched on 25 February 2022, details 45 actions to reduce and reform waiting lists.
Our immediate priority under the plan is to deliver additional activity and thereby reduce the number of people waiting, with a particular focus on long waiters. Some €263m, of the €350m fund made available via the 2022 WLAP, has been allocated to the HSE and National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) this year to source additional outpatient (OPD), endoscopy (GI Scopes), diagnostics and inpatient daycase (IPDC) activity to achieve this.
A substantial piece of work with Hospital Groups and CHI to identify the specialties and indeed procedures to target is nearing completion. In the meantime, the HSE and NTPF are collaborating to procure as much additional activity as possible using existing arrangements.
The HSE will continue to prioritise the delivery of care based on robust clinical guidance. Ongoing monitoring will take place to identify evidence of unmet historical, clinically urgent demand. To the extent that these demands are displacing non-urgent waiting list activity, further efforts will be made to secure additional capacity.
The 2022 Waiting List Action Plan will also progress work towards the achievement of intermediate waiting time targets this year, as set out in the 2022 National Service Plan (98% of all patients on active waiting list will wait less than 18 months for their first Outpatients appointment and less than 12 months for their procedure).
The 2022 Plan also focuses on 15 high volume inpatient day case procedures, including cataracts and hip and knee replacements, so that every person waiting over 6 months for one of these procedures, and who is clinically ready, will receive an offer of treatment via the NTPF.
