David Cullinane
Question:354. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health if he is considering a centralised referral system for patients referred into acute hospitals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30369/23]
View answerThursday, 22 June 2023
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The 2023 Waiting List Action Plan (WLAP) was published on the 7th of March 2023 and forms the next stage of the new multi-annual approach to reduce and reform hospital waiting lists and times. Under the 2023 Plan, the Department is allocating €363 million to the HSE and NTPF to remove 1.66 million patients from waiting lists, resulting in a projected reduction of 10%, and to further reduce waiting times towards Sláintecare targets (10 weeks for new outpatient appointments and 12 weeks for procedures).
This will build on the 2022 WLAP, in which c.1.56m patients were removed from waiting lists, resulting in a net reduction of c.30,000 (4%) – the first annual decrease in national hospital waiting lists since 2015. In 2022 the numbers waiting over the Sláintecare times also fell by 11%, or 56,000 people. Since the pandemic peaks in 2020/21 there has been a 24% (151,000) reduction in the number of people waiting longer than the Sláintecare times.
As part of the 2023 Waiting List Action Plan, and under one of three key areas ‘Reforming Schedule Care’, Action 17 commits to the establishment by the HSE of patient-centred booking arrangements through a Central Referral’s Office (CRO). This reform initiative seeks to significantly improve patient experience and ensure patients are seen as quickly as possible. The approach involves (i) reforming how referrals are received, triaged and assigned, (ii) increasing patient choice of appointment time and date through partial booking and (iii) establishing a single point of contact for queries relating to referrals or appointments.
In 2022, this initiative was piloted by the HSE at University Limerick Hospital Group and preliminary impacts demonstrated an improvement in caseload balancing and a reduction in the number of patients placed on a waiting list as a result of advanced clinical prioritisation upon receipt of referral. In 2023, patient-centred booking arrangements will be expanded to 9 additional hospital sites (10 hospitals in total), initially including 1-2 specialties.
To date, CROs have been implemented in 4 Hospitals - University Hospital Limerick, Ennis General Hospital, Nenagh General Hospital and Croom Hospital. An additional 3 Hospitals are due to go-live in July - Crumlin, Temple Street and Tallaght Children's Hospital.
The Waiting List Task Force will continue to meet regularly to drive and oversee the delivery of all 30 actions in the 2023 Waiting List Action Plan and provide regular updates to the Minister for Health and the Sláintecare Programme Board.