Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 1 June 2023
12. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Health if he is aware that an organisation (details supplied) recently reported that the number of long-waiters for hospital treatment has increased by 12% since start of 2023 and has risen 22-fold over the past decade; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26577/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraWaiting lists for scheduled care were too long before the pandemic and they worsened with COVID. However, since the peak of the pandemic, excellent progress has been made. We must acknowledge the extraordinary dedication of our healthcare professionals, who not only dealt with COVID, but are still dealing with its impacts today, including exacerbated waiting list backlogs.
We are focused now on those who have been waiting the longest for care. In 2021, we began to address waiting lists in a sustainable way as part of our multi-annual approach to achieving the maximum wait times recommended in the 2017 Oireachtas Sláintecare report (10 weeks OPD, 12 weeks IPDC/GI Scopes). As a result, in 2022 we saw the first annual reduction in waiting lists since 2015, as well as significant reductions in waiting times - 11% reduction (56,000 people) in patients waiting longer than the Sláintecare targets, and a 24% decrease compared to waiting list peaks experienced during the pandemic.
Our goal with the 2023 Waiting List Action Plan is to eliminate long waiters completely, with a focus on achieving the all-party agreed Sláintecare maximum wait time targets. I met with the HSE and NTPF to review progress earlier this week. The latest figures published by the NTPF show that, at the end of April, 492,639 people are exceeding these Sláintecare targets, of which 161,304 were waiting over 12 months. This is a decrease of 9,635, or 6%, compared with the numbers waiting over 12 months at end-December 2022.
