Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 May 2018
449. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Health his plans to reduce the waiting lists for children waiting for an outpatient appointment in the three Dublin children's hospitals especially the 10,000 children who are waiting 18 months and longer; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23706/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraImproving waiting times for hospital procedures and outpatient appointments is a key commitment in the programme for Government. It is acknowledged that outpatient waiting lists are a challenge which need to be addressed.
The development of a sustainable and safe paediatric orthopaedic service, including scoliosis services for children and young people has been prioritised in the 2018. An additional €9 million has been provided to the HSE in 2018 specifically to develop paediatric orthopaedic services, including increasing access to scoliosis services.
The HSE and Children’s Hospital Group (CHG) developed a Paediatric Scoliosis Waiting List Action Plan for 2018 and this includes actions targeted at patients waiting longest for an outpatient appointment.
The HSE National Service Plan sets out a target that 80% of patients waiting for a first outpatient appointment will be seen within a 52 week wait timeframe. HSE figures for March 2018 show that the three hospitals of the CHG are seeing 62-64% outpatients within 52 weeks.
In 2017, almost 150,000 (148,948) patients attended outpatients across the three hospitals of the CHG. It is worth noting that in the same year, across the three hospitals, over 21,000 (14%) of patients did not attend their hospital appointments.
The most recent NTPF figures for April 2018 show that there was a total of 43,316 patients on the outpatient waiting list across the three hospitals of the CHG. 77% of these patients are waiting 18 months or less.
The CHG advise that capacity challenges are managed daily, with each of the three children’s hospitals supporting each other in terms of bed utilisation and availability.
A key component of the management of waiting lists by hospitals is the categorisation of patients by clinical priority to ensure that all patients receive care in a timely and clinically appropriate matter.
The HSE is working with the NTPF and my Department to finalise a joint plan focused on improving overall use of resources to tackle long patient waiting times and ensure timely access to treatment and care for our patients. I hope to publish this Plan shortly. As part of this process the NTPF and the HSE are currently reviewing proposals from hospitals, including the hospitals across the CHG, for outpatient initiatives.
