Mary Butler
Ceist:77. Deputy Mary Butler asked the Minister for Health the reason more than 15,309 persons had been waiting over a year for an outpatient appointment in University Hospital Waterford in April 2018. [23509/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 29 May 2018
Ceisteanna (77)
Freagraí scríofa
I acknowledge that Outpatient waiting times are often unacceptably long and I am conscious of the burden that this places on patients and their families.
The HSE service plan 2018 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 Waterford University Hospital is seeing over 58% of outpatients within 52 weeks.
Each year 3.3 million patients attend Hospital Outpatient clinics for appointments, with demand for services growing year-on-year. 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 timely and clinically appropriate matter.
In 2017, Waterford University Hospital had over 147,000 (147,274) Outpatient Department attendances. However, over 20,000 patients did not attend their appointments last year.
Waterford University Hospital has advised that it is currently providing additional insourced clinics for those specialities with the longest waiting lists, including Urology, Rheumatology, Dermatology and ENT. It is expected that 300 additional patients will be seen in each of these services as a result of this initiative.
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 for outpatient initiatives.