Michael Noonan
Ceist:193 Mr. Noonan asked the Minister for Health the steps, if any, he intends taking to reduce hospital waiting lists; if so, the estimated costs of his proposals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13967/97]
Written Answers. - Hospital Waiting Lists.
Michael Noonan
Ceist:194 Mr. Noonan asked the Minister for Health if he will introduce a Supplementary Estimate to enable his Department to further reduce hospital waiting lists; if so, the amount of the Supplementary Estimate; his estimate of the number of interventions this will fund; the reduction he expects in waiting lists as a result; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13968/97]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 193 and 194 together.
I will soon allocate the sum of £8 million, previously set aside for addressing waiting lists in 1997, to the health boards and selected voluntary hospitals. I have no plans to introduce a Supplementary Estimate for waiting lists. The allocation of £8 million for 1997 will be based on the following principles: the money will be directed towards a small number of selected specialties to achieve the maximum benefit; there will be an increased focus on waiting times — how long patients have to wait for treatment rather than primarily on waiting lists — the actual number of people on a list during any one period; the ultimate aim will be to eliminate waiting times of longer than 12 months for adults and six months for children in target specialties; the criteria for allocating waiting list money to individual hospitals will include: the extent of spare capacity in each hospital to carry out waiting list work; whether the hospitals with the longest lists have the spare capacity; the price quoted by hospitals for targeted procedures and their relative efficiency in the targeted specialties; and the track record of individual hospitals from previous years in delivering the reductions agreed upon. My Department will continue to stress to agencies the importance of validating waiting lists so that we have an accurate picture of the situation at all times.
Based on these principles I will shortly be making the full £8 million available to the health boards and hospitals concerned. In doing so, my Department will discuss with each agency the number of interventions that can be performed with the money available and the target reduction in waiting lists and waiting times that can be achieved.