Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 20 April 2023
22. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Health if he has received a work plan from the National Treatment Purchase Fund on its waiting list initiative plans for 2023; and if he will indicate the key targets. [18547/23]
View answerThe 2023 Waiting List Action Plan was published on 7th March and is the next stage of the multi-annual approach to reduce and reform waiting lists and times. It allocates €363 million in funding across 30 actions to be implemented by the HSE and NTPF to reduce acute scheduled care waiting lists by 10% this year and to continue implementing long-term reforms.
Under the Plan, additional once-off funding of €50 million was provided to the NTPF, bringing its 2023 budget to €150 million for addressing hospital waiting lists. NTPF waiting list activity will encompass support for public hospitals to treat more patients, commissioning care in private hospitals, administrative and clinical validation, data quality, and systems and process development.
In 2023, the NTPF targets under the Plan are to arrange 110,000 new OPD appointments, 40,000 IPDC procedures and 18,500 GI scopes in public and private hospitals. In addition, the NTPF will aim to arrange 65,000 diagnostics and carry out administrative validation that is estimated to remove 146,100 people from waiting lists.
While the NTPF will seek to arrange over 150 different types of procedures in public and private hospitals, there will be a focus on 20 high-volume procedures, including cataracts, hip and knee replacements, for which the NTPF will offer treatment for all clinically suitable patients waiting more than three months.
