Bernard J. Durkan
Ceist:168 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Health and Children the number of patients currently awaiting treatment in respect of ear, nose and throat surgery; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29143/00]
Written Answers. - Hospital Waiting Lists.
Bernard J. Durkan
Ceist:170 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Health and Children his plans to ensure that patients requiring operations have access to surgery within six months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29145/00]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 168 and 170 together.
The number on the in-patient waiting lists for ENT at 30 September 2000, the latest date for which figures are available, is 6,712. This is a welcome reduction of 10.3% on the ENT figure of 7,486 at 31 December 1999.
I am also pleased to inform the Deputy that the overall numbers on waiting lists fell by 7,198 which is a reduction of 19.5% on the end of December 1999 quarter. This welcome reduction is a reflection of the major priority that is being attached to addressing high waiting lists.
It is my intention to pursue continual reductions in waiting lists and waiting times for hospital treatment. Dedicated funding for waiting list procedures of £34 million was allocated this year to health agencies and £34.5 million has been indicated to health agencies under the waiting list initiative for 2001.
This investment is being made in conjunction with longer term measures associated with the £2 billion investment under the national development plan, the ongoing implementation of the recommendations of the expert review group on the waiting list initiative, the national bed capacity review and the winter initiative which I recently announced. In this regard, I was pleased to announce an investment package of £25 million to address a number of key service issues in the acute and non-acute sectors. The investment is being targeted at a number of areas, including the provision of additional step down facilities for patients who have completed the acute phase of their treatment. Many of these patients are older people and require a further level of care in a more appropriate environment. Under the winter initiative, at least 500 additional nursing home places will be contracted from private nursing homes. I am satisfied that this element of the initiative will increase the capacity of the acute hospital sector to address the problem of inappropriate use of hospital beds and will enhance the level of step down care available.
It is my intention to continue to take all available steps to address the short and longer term issues associated with lengthy waiting lists and waiting times.
Bernard J. Durkan
Ceist:169 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will put in place a process whereby patients requiring heart surgery will have access to treatment within three months or as required arising from medical opinion; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29144/00]
Adult cardiac by-pass surgery in the public health sector is currently carried out at three centres, the Mater Misericordiae Hospital, Dublin, Cork University Hospital and since September 1998, St. James's Hospital Dublin. Paediatric cardiac surgery is carried out at Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin. The course of treatment and the scheduling of cardiac surgery is a matter for hospital authorities in the first instance, based on clinical assessment of need and urgent cases always receive priority.
In 1998, my predecessor allocated funding of £2.3 million under the cardiac surgery waiting list initiative, with the specific aim of reducing the national cardiac surgery waiting list for adults and children. In 1999, my predecessor made provision for the allocation of £4 million under the cardiac surgery waiting list initiative and I made a further £4 million available in 2000. Funding of £7.6 million for the further development of cardiac surgery services has also been made available for 2001. I am confident that this funding will build on previous years' success in reducing the total number of adults and children on the waiting list. The cardiac surgery waiting list initiative has had and will continue to have a positive impact on the public cardiac waiting list. The total number of public patients, adults and children, awaiting cardiac surgery has reduced from 1,586 in September 1977 to 868 in June 2000, which represents a reduction of 55%.
As Minister for Health and Children, my priority is to address the existing cardiac surgery waiting lists and the ultimate objective is to achieve an average six month waiting period for adults and three months for children. I am confident the development of additional adult public cardiac surgery facilities at St. James's Hospital, Dublin, and the proposed new cardiac surgery developments at University College Hospital, Galway, will help reduce the waiting lists which exist at present. Target activity levels are in the region of 450 procedures annually at St. James's Hospital and 300 procedures at UCHG. This additional activity will increase existing adult public cardiac surgery capacity by more than 50%. I am also developing additional children's cardiac surgery capacity at Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin, in association with the National Cardiac Unit, Mater Hospital, to provide for up to an additional 100 cardiac procedures for children. This additional activity will increase existing paediatric cardiac surgery capacity by up to 40%.
The programme of referring children abroad to the UK for cardiac surgery will continue to be funded in 2001 and new proposals to refer children to the USA have been identified as a measure towards the overall objective of reducing waiting times to three months for children awaiting cardiac surgery.
Question No. 170 taken with Question No. 168.