Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 17 February 2021
851. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Health the number of persons awaiting for a colonoscopy in Cavan General Hospital; the number that have been waiting up to 30, 30 to 60, 60 to 90 and more than 90 days, respectively in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8574/21]
Amharc ar fhreagra852. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Health the number of persons awaiting an endoscopy in Cavan General Hospital; the number that have been waiting up to 30, 30 to 60, 60 to 90 and more than 90 days, respectively in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8575/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 851 and 852 together.
It is recognised that waiting times for scheduled appointments and procedures have been impacted in the last year as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The HSE is currently recommending that only critical time dependent elective procedures are undertaken at this time due to the on-going and significant increased demand for bed capacity related to Covid-19.
This decision was made arising from the rapid increase in Covid-19 admissions and to ensure patient safety and that all appropriate resources were made available for Covid-19 related activity and time-critical essential work.
Patient safety remains at the centre of all hospital activity and elective care scheduling. To ensure services are provided in a safe, clinically-aligned and prioritised way, hospitals are following HSE clinical guidelines and protocols.
The National Waiting List Management Policy is a standardised approach used by the HSE to manage scheduled care treatment for in-patient, day case and planned procedures. It sets out the processes that hospitals are to implement to manage waiting lists and was developed in 2014 to ensure that all administrative, managerial and clinical staff follow an agreed national minimum standard for the management and administration of waiting lists for scheduled care.
The information requested by the Deputy is outlined in the attached document. The National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) has advised my Department that due to Statistical Disclosure Control reasons, to protect patient identity, they cannot break the figures down below the provided time-bands.
IPDC Colonoscopy and Endoscopy Waiting List at Cavan General Hospital as of 28/01/2021
|
Row Labels |
0-3 Months |
3-6 Months |
6-9 Months |
Grand Total |
|
Cavan General Hospital |
||||
|
Endoscopy |
429 |
60 |
7 |
496 |
|
Colonoscopy |
460 |
71 |
531 |
|
|
Grand Total |
889 |
131 |
7 |
1027 |
