Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 13 December 2022
641. Deputy Martin Browne asked the Minister for Health his views on the case of a patient (details supplied) who was told that they would have to wait three years for an appointment but would be seen in eight weeks if they were a private patient; and his views on whether this is an appropriate difference between public and private health care. [62239/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI sincerely regret that patients can experience a long waiting time for treatment, and I remain conscious of the burden that this places on them and their families.
It is recognised that waiting times for scheduled appointments and procedures have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. While significant work continues to positively impact on waiting times and improve pathways to elective care, acute hospitals are still impacted by operational challenges arising from the pandemic.
The Government has invested record sums in our health service. This is been used to boost permanent capacity which is key in helping to tackle waiting lists. Our workforce has grown by more than 17,000 staff, doctors, nurses, midwives and therapists since 2020.
The €350 million allocated to the HSE and NTPF under the 2022 Waiting List Action Plan us primarily focused on providing additional public and private activity to reduce waiting lists. Under this plan the Department, HSE, and NTPF will deliver urgent additional capacity for the treatment of patients, as well as investing in longer term reforms to bring sustained reductions in waiting lists.
For 2023, funding of €443 million is being allocated to tackle Waiting Lists. This includes:
- €123 million in funding for delivery of the HSE Waiting List Action Plan, including priority areas such as Obesity/Bariatrics, Spina Bifida/Scoliosis and Gynaecology, as well as progressing longer-term reforms to sustainably enhance capacity. Other actions in the Action Plan will streamline and reconfigure care pathways.
- €150 million for the NTPF to procure additional capacity to reduce waiting lists.
- €90m for additional short-term measures to address acute scheduled care waiting list backlogs.
The Department of Health continues to work with the HSE and the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) to identify ways to improve access to care, including through increased use of private hospitals, funding weekend and evening work in public hospitals, funding “see and treat” services, providing virtual clinics, and increasing capacity in the public hospital system.
The National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) works with public hospitals, as opposed to with patients directly, to offer and provide the funding for treatment to clinically suitable long waiting patients who are on outpatient waiting list for an appointment or inpatient/day case waiting list for surgery, having been referred on to such a list following clinical assessment.
The key criteria of the NTPF is the prioritisation of the longest waiting patients first. While the NTPF identifies patients eligible for NTPF treatment, it is solely on the basis of their time spent on the Waiting List. The clinical suitability of the patient to avail of NTPF funded treatment is determined by the public hospital.
