Hospital Waiting Lists

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 14 December 2023

Thursday, 14 December 2023

Questions (518)

Rose Conway-Walsh

Question:

518. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Health the number of persons waiting for cataract surgery, by county; the average wait time; the number waiting over one, two, three and four years, respectively, by county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56221/23]

Written answers

Minister for Health

It is recognised that waiting times for many scheduled appointments and procedures were too long before and have been made worse by the Covid-19 pandemic. 

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. 

The 2023 Waiting List Action Plan builds on the foundational work done in the 2021 and 2022 plans, both of which reversed the annual trend of rising waiting lists. 

For 2023, funding totalling €443 million is being allocated to tackle Waiting Lists with €363 million of this being allocated to the 2023 Waiting List Action Plan, to reduce hospital waiting lists by implementing longer term reforms and providing additional public and private activity to clear backlogs exacerbated during the pandemic. The remaining €80 million of the €443 million is being targeted at various measures to alleviate community/primary care waiting lists.

With the funding from Budget 2024 (€407 million), we are taking the next steps in the multi-annual approach towards achieving the vision of a world-class public healthcare system in which everyone has timely and transparent access to high-quality scheduled care, where and when they need it, in line with Sláintecare reforms. 

In relation to the particular query raised by the Deputy, the attached information, was provided to my Department by the NTPF. The NTPF has advised that the health system does not collect the data necessary to calculate true average wait times. In particular, the time to treatment of patients who have already received their care is not collected. The NTPF collects data on patients currently on the waiting list and the average time that these patients have been waiting is provided here.

-					Cataracts Waiting List by Area of Residence (AOR) And TimeBands
Date	30/11/2023
AOR (County)	< 1 year	1-2 years	2-3 years	3+ years	Grand Total			Average Wait Time			Median Wait Time
Carlow	94	13			107			145			103
Cavan	32				32
Clare	231	5			236
Cork	435	6			441
Donegal	133	20			153
Dublin	944	65	5	4	1018
Galway	275	39			314
Kerry	75				75
Kildare	196	15			211
Kilkenny	117	8			125
Laois	89	7			96
Leitrim	31	4			35
Limerick	392				392						The health system does not collect the data necessary to calculate average wait times.In particular, the time to treatment of patients who have already received their care is not collected. The NTPF collects data on patients currently on the waiting list and the average time that these patients have been waiting is provided here.
Longford	64	5			69
Louth	53	8			61
Mayo	152	17			169
Meath	73	14			87
Monaghan	22				22
Offaly	114	7			121
Roscommon	67	8			75
Sligo	102	18			120
SmallVolAOR		7	24	12	43
Tipperary	321	29			350
Unknown/Outside Ireland	15				15
Waterford	212	37	4		253
Westmeath	79	6			85
Wexford	269	40			309
Wicklow	203				203
Grand Total	4790	378	33	16	5217