Written Answers. - Hospital Waiting Lists. – Dáil Éireann (28th Dáil) – Thursday, 7 Dec 2000

Written Answers. - Hospital Waiting Lists.

Ruairí Quinn

Ceist:

59 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Health and Children the number of patients currently on waiting lists; the times of waiting per hospital and speciality in December 1999 and 2000, or the latest date for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28909/00]

Minister for Health and Children (Mr. Martin)

The total number on in-patient hospital waiting lists at 30 September 2000, the latest date for which figures are available, is 29,657. At 31 December 1999 there were 36,855 on in-patient hospital waiting lists. Waiting times in the format collected by my Department at 31 December 1999 and 30 September 2000 are set out in the following tables.

I am 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.

Procedure	Public:3-12 Months(Sep. 1999)	Public:12 Months and Over(Sep. 1999)	Public:3-12 Months(Jun. 1999)	Public:12 Months and Over(Jun. 1999)	Public:3-12 Months(Sep. 2000)	Public:12 Months and Over(Sep. 2000)
adults (cataracts)	1,900	1,068	1,836	933	1,789	734
Adults (other procedures)	580	317	362	323	342	365
Specialty Total	2,480	1,386	2,198	1,256	2,131	1,099
% of Total	64.17	35.83	63.64	36,36	65.98	34.02

Orthopaedics

Procedure	Public:3-12 Months(Sep. 1999)	Public:12 Months and Over(Sep. 1999)	Public:3-12 Months(Jun. 1999)	Public:12 Months and Over(Jun. 1999)	Public:3-12 Months(Sep. 2000)	Public:12 Months and Over(Sep. 2000)
Other elective procedures	1,410	1,761	1,443	1,751	1,494	1,474
Other joint replacements	297	370	–	–	43	69
Total hip replacements	713	515	627	406	641	380
Total knee replacements	365	298	341	278	317	235
Specialty Total	2,785	2,944	2,411	2,435	2,495	2,168
% of Total	48.61	51.39	49.75	50.25	53.62	46.38

Procedure	Public:3-12 Months(Sep. 1999)	Public:12 Months and Over(Sep. 1999)	Public:3-12 Months(Jun. 1999)	Public:12 Months and Over(Jun. 1999)	Public:3-12 Months(Sep. 2000)	Public:12 Months and Over(Sep. 2000)
Other procedures	209	220	219	244	137	226
Varicose veins	649	1,514	553	1,625	542	1,401
Specialty Total	868	1,734	772	1,869	679	1,627
% of Total	33.10	66.90	29.23	70.77	29.44	70.56
Grand Total	13,455	12,823	11,769	12,727	11,201	11,338
% of Grand Total	45.07	43,29	42.13	45.56	43.69	44.23

Plastic Surgery

Procedure	Public:3-6 Months(Sep. 1999)	Public:6 Months and Over(Sep. 1999)	Public:3-6 Months(Jun. 1999)	Public:6 Months and Over(Jun. 1999)	Public:3-6 Months(Sep. 2000)	Public:6 Months and Over(Sep. 2000)
Children (all procedures)	114	449	117	468	90	428
Specialty Total	114	449	117	468	90	428
% of Total	20.25	79.75	20.00	80.00	17.37	82.63

Surgery

Procedure	Public:3-6 Months(Sep. 1999)	Public:6 Months and Over(Sep. 1999)	Public:3-6 Months(Jun. 1999)	Public:6 Months and Over(Jun. 1999)	Public:3-6 Months(Sep. 2000)	Public:6 Months and Over(Sep. 2000)
All procedures	81	103	117	129	69	116
Specialty Total	81	103	117	129	69	116
% of Total	44.02	55.98	47.56	52.44	37.30	62.70

Urology

Procedure	Public:3-6 Months(Sep. 1999)	Public:6 Months and Over(Sep. 1999)	Public:3-6 Months(Jun. 1999)	Public:6 Months and Over(Jun. 1999)	Public:3-6 Months(Sep. 2000)	Public:6 Months and Over(Sep. 2000)
All procedures	11	43	22	33	8	16
Specialty Total	11	43	22	33	8	16
% of Total	20.37	79.63	40.00	60.00	33.33	66.67

Vascular

Procedure	Public:3-6 Months(Sep. 1999)	Public:6 Months and Over(Sep. 1999)	Public:3-6 Months(Jun. 1999)	Public:6 Months and Over(Jun. 1999)	Public:3-6 Months(Sep. 2000)	Public:6 Months and Over(Sep. 2000)
Other procedures	1	0	0	1	0	1
Speciality Total	1	0	0	1	0	1
% of Total	100.00	0.00	0.00	100.00	0.00	100.00
Grand Total	1,019	2,456	936	2,504	872	2,224
% of Grand Total	3.41	8.23	3.36	8.96	3.40	8.68

Waiting Times for Adults - Target Specialties

Cardiac Surgery

Procedure	Public:3-12 Months(Dec. 1998)	Public:12 Months and Over(Dec. 1998)	Public:3-12 Months(Sep. 1999)	Public:12 Months and Over(Sep. 1999)	Public:3-12 Months(Dec. 1999)	Public:12 Months and Over(Dec. 1999)
Adults (CABG)	212	532	121	565	162	628
Adults (other surgery)	168	244	173	335	136	188
Specialty Total	380	776	294	900	298	815
% of Total	32.87	67.13	24.62	75.38	26.75	73.25

E.N.T.

Procedure	Public:3-12 Months(Dec. 1998)	Public:12 Months and Over(Dec. 1998)	Public:3-12 Months(Sep. 1999)	Public:12 Months and Over(Sep. 1999)	Public:3-12 Months(Dec. 1999)	Public:12 Months and Over(Dec. 1999)
Adults (all E.N.T. procedures)	2,033	2,864	2,183	2,733	2,229	3,040
Specialty Total	2,033	2,864	2,183	2,733	2,229	3,040
% of Total	41.52	58.48	44.41	55.59	42.30	57.70

Gynaecology

Procedure	Public:3-12 Months(Dec. 1998)	Public:12 Months and Over(Dec. 1998)	Public:3-12 Months(Sep. 1999)	Public:12 Months and Over(Sep. 1999)	Public:3-12 Months(Dec. 1999)	Public:12 Months and Over(Dec. 1999)
All procedures	1,937	1,079	1,743	654	1,771	799
Specialty Total	1,937	1,079	1,743	654	1,771	799
% of Total	64.22	35.78	72.72	27.28	68.91	31.09

Opthalmology

Procedure	Public:3-12 Months(Dec. 1998)	Public:12 Months and Over(Dec. 1998)	Public:3-12 Months(Sep. 1999)	Public:12 Months and Over(Sep. 1999)	Public:3-12 Months(Dec. 1999)	Public:12 Months and Over(Dec. 1999)
Adults (cataracts)	2,190	920	1,900	1,068	2,064	1,272
Adults (other procedures)	558	279	580	317	461	345
Specialty Total	2,748	1,199	2,480	1,385	2,525	1,617
% of Total	69.62	30.38	64.17	35.83	60.95	39.04

Orthopaedics

Procedure	Public:3-12 Months(Dec. 1998)	Public:12 Months and Over(Dec. 1998)	Public:3-12 Months(Sep. 1999)	Public:12 Months and Over(Sep. 1999)	Public:3-12 Months(Dec. 1999)	Public:12 Months and Over(Dec. 1999)
Other elective procedures	2,043	2,451	1,410	1,761	1,399	1,806
Other joint replacements	75	255	297	370	28	880
Total hip replacements	1,006	584	713	515	832	551
Total Knee replacements	478	325	365	298	241	467
Specialty Total	3,600	3,615	2,785	2,944	2,500	3,704
% of Total	49.90	50.10	48.61	51.39	40.30	59.70

Plastic Surgery

Procedure	Public:3-12 Months(Dec. 1998)	Public:12 Months and Over(Dec. 1998)	Public:3-12 Months(Sep. 1999)	Public:12 Months and Over(Sep. 1999)	Public:3-12 Months(Dec. 1999)	Public:12 Months and Over(Dec. 1999)
Adults (cosmetic)	110	130	73	91	110	205
Adults (functional)	611	812	674	836	642	875
Specialty Total	721	942	747	927	752	1,080
% of Total	43.36	56.64	44.62	55.38	41.05	58.95

Surgery

Procedure	Public:3-12 Months(Dec. 1998)	Public:12 Months and Over(Dec. 1998)	Public:3-12 Months(Sep. 1999)	Public:12 Months and Over(Sep. 1999)	Public:3-12 Months(Dec. 1999)	Public:12 Months and Over(Dec. 1999)
All procedures	2,223	1,063	1,716	1,118	2,058	1,069
Specialty Total	2,223	1,063	1,716	1,116	2,058	1,069
% of Total	87.65	32.35	60.59	39.41	65.81	34.19

Vascular

Procedure	Public:3-12 Months(Dec. 1998)	Public:12 Months and Over(Dec. 1998)	Public:3-12 Months(Sep. 1999)	Public:12 Months and Over(Sep. 1999)	Public:3-12 Months(Dec. 1999)	Public:12 Months and Over(Dec. 1999)
Other procedures	238	267	209	220	270	230
Varicose veins	829	1,664	649	1,514	650	1,577
Specialty Total	865	1,931	858	1,734	920	1,807
% of Total	30.94	69.06	33.10	66.90	33.74	66.26
Grand Total	15,187	14,298	13,455	12,923	13,995	14,833
% of Grand Total	45.38	42.73	45.07	43.29	43.09	45.68

Waiting Times For Children - Target Specialties

Cardiac Surgery

Procedure	Public:3-6 Months(Dec. 1998)	Public:6 Months and Over(Dec. 1998)	Public:3-6 Months(Sep. 1999)	Public:6 Months and Over(Sep. 1999)	Public:3-6 Months(Dec. 2000)	Public:6 Months and Over(Dec. 2000)
Children (all procedures)	16	57	11	65	21	67
Specialty Total	16	57	11	65	21	67
% of Total	21.92	78.08	14.47	85.53	23.86	76.14

E.N.T.

Procedure	Public:3-6 Months(Dec. 1998)	Public:6 Months and Over(Dec. 1998)	Public:3-6 Months(Sep. 1999)	Public:6 Months and Over(Sep. 1999)	Public:3-6 Months(Dec. 2000)	Public:6 Months and Over(Dec. 2000)
Children (grommets)	123	150	160	174	85	240
Children (other procedures)	99	381	106	253	82	234
Children (tonsils/adenolds)	460	1,612	427	1,057	362	1,214
Specialty Total	682	2,143	693	1,484	529	1,688
% of Total	24.14	75.86	31.83	68.17	23.86	76.14

Gynaecology

Procedure	Public:3-6 Months(Dec. 1998)	Public:6 Months and Over(Dec. 1998)	Public:3-6 Months(Sep. 1999)	Public:6 Months and Over(Sep. 1999)	Public:3-6 Months(Dec. 2000)	Public:6 Months and Over(Dec. 2000)
All procedures	–	–	1	0	0	1
Specialty Total	–	–	1	0	0	1
% of Total	–	–	100.00	0.00	0.00	100.00

Opthalmology

Procedure	Public:3-6 Months(Dec. 1998)	Public:6 Months and Over(Dec. 1998)	Public:3-6 Months(Sep. 1999)	Public:6 Months and Over(Sep. 1999)	Public:3-6 Months(Dec. 2000)	Public:6 Months and Over(Dec. 2000)
Children (all procedures)	106	256	70	240	84	269
Specialty Total	106	256	70	240	84	269
% of Total	29.28	70.72	22.58	77.42	19.22	80.78

Orthopaedics

Procedure	Public:3-6 Months(Dec. 1998)	Public:6 Months and Over(Dec. 1998)	Public:3-6 Months(Sep. 1999)	Public:6 Months and Over(Sep. 1999)	Public:3-6 Months(Dec. 2000)	Public:6 Months and Over(Dec. 2000)
Other elective procedures	20	88	37	72	36	64
Other joint replacements	12	9	–	–	–	–
Specialty Total	32	97	37	72	36	64
% of Total	24.81	75.19	33.94	66.06	36.00	64.00

Plastic Surgery

Procedure	Public:3-6 Months(Dec. 1998)	Public:6 Months and Over(Dec. 1998)	Public:3-6 Months(Sep. 1999)	Public:6 Months and Over(Sep. 1999)	Public:3-6 Months(Dec. 2000)	Public:6 Months and Over(Dec. 2000)
Children (all procedures)	137	257	114	449	124	445
Specialty Total	137	257	114	449	124	445
% of Total	34.77	65.23	20.25	79.75	21.79	78.21

Surgery

Procedure	Public:3-6 Months(Dec. 1998)	Public:6 Months and Over(Dec. 1998)	Public:3-6 Months(Sep. 1999)	Public:6 Months and Over(Sep. 1999)	Public:3-6 Months(Dec. 2000)	Public:6 Months and Over(Dec. 2000)
All procedures	73	101	81	103	131	147
Specialty Total	73	101	81	103	131	147
% of Total	41.95	58.05	44.02	55.98	47.12	52.88

Urology

Procedure	Public:3-6 Months(Dec. 1998)	Public:6 Months and Over(Dec. 1998)	Public:3-6 Months(Sep. 1999)	Public:6 Months and Over(Sep. 1999)	Public:3-6 Months(Dec. 2000)	Public:6 Months and Over(Dec. 2000)
All procedures	9	12	11	43	22	38
Specialty Total	9	12	11	43	22	36
% of Total	42.86	57.14	20.37	79.63	37.93	62.07

Vascular

Procedure	Public:3-6 Months(Dec. 1998)	Public:6 Months and Over(Dec. 1998)	Public:3-6 Months(Sep. 1999)	Public:6 Months and Over(Sep. 1999)	Public:3-6 Months(Dec. 2000)	Public:6 Months and Over(Dec. 2000)
Other procedures	1	0	1	0	1	2
Specialty Total	1	0	1	0	1	2
% of Total	100.00	0.00	100.00	0.00	33.33	66.67

Grand Total1,0562,9231,0192,4569282,719% of Grand Total3.168.733.418.232.868.37

Question No. 60 taken with Question No. 40.

Dáil Éireann díospóireacht - Thursday, 7 Dec 2000