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PATIENTS WAITING MORE than six months for some high volume procedures, including cataracts, joint replacements, tonsils and angiograms will be offered treatment this year, the Department of Health has said.
Minister for Health Simon Harris has published a new plan – the Scheduled Care Access Plan 2019 – aimed at reducing waiting times for patients.
The plan aims to improve access for patients waiting for hospital operations or procedures, as well as patients waiting for a first outpatient appointment.
In 2019, the HSE will deliver 1.155 million elective hospital procedures and over one million new outpatient appointments, according to the Department of Health.
It added that the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) will deliver 25,000 inpatient day case treatments, 5,000 gastrointestinal scopes and 40,000 first outpatient appointments.
Under the plans, a particular focus will be put on 10 high volume procedures including cataracts, joint replacements, varicose veins, tonsillectomies, cystoscopies, angiograms, lesions, laparoscopic cholecystectomies, septoplasties, and dental/maxillofacial surgery.
The Department said that all clinically suitable patients waiting more than six months will be offered treatment in 2019.
The number of people waiting for a hospital procedure was reduced to 70,200 by the end of 2018, from a peak of 86,100 in July 2017.
At the end of December 2018, the number of patients waiting longer than three months had dropped to 40,200 from just under 58,000 in July 2017, a decrease of 31%.
“However, it must be acknowledged that due to a number of factors, planned activity for January and February this year is behind target and waiting lists are higher than projected in the plan,” Minister Harris said.
“The challenge now will be to catch up on lost activity and meet the targets set out in the plan. The HSE and the NTPF are fully committed to meeting these targets and I look forward to progress in this regard. Irish patients want and deserve timely access to hospital procedures and appointments.”
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Oh another Plan. That will fix the problem. How many “Plans” to date have fixed it.
@Dave Doyle:
Another new plan all presented in a shiny new binder format. This time next week it’ll be shoved in a drawer along side the plans for reducing trolly numbers.
(Just under 3 years waiting for an eye cataract procedure for a pensioner I know. The poor man was practically blind for 2 of them)
@Milk The Drones: The only real plan FG have is to force people to go private.
@Dave Doyle: these plans are expensive to produce you know
More front line and clinical staff… It’s pretty simple or the list will go on
@davidjdelaney: And less people attending hospitals who in no way need to be there. There is no point in having more clinical staff if their time is being wasted.
And pigs will fly
Remember, this is being brought now only so that Harris can save his neck and not lose anymore votes as this should have been in place a decade ago! Harris can’t even fool anyone without it being oh so obvious
Well pity bariatric surgery is not on that list. Patients are waiting 6 years, sometimes more, and a good few have died on that waiting list.
@Agnieszka Sobanska: Very true. 4 year waiting list for a dietician. Had to travel abroad to get my bariatric surgery. Best descion i ever made.
Been waiting 4 years so far to see an oculoplastic surgeon for a fairly minor day patient operation. I feel sorry for anybody in pain, stuck on a waiting list, not knowing if or when they will be seen by a consultant. HSE should be disbanded at this stage, they are an absolute disgrace.
Really can’t see this working at all, not enough theatres, beds, nurses etc
I was over 2 years waiting on cataract operations on both eyes in the Mater, during which I lost ability to see and read effectively, watch TV or drive. One eye eventually done; was told the other eye would be done within 6months. With nothing happening 1 year later, a family contact inside the Mater made enquiries, found my file case had been wrongly marked ‘Closed’ after the 1st operation.
Took angry phone calls, ructions and another year to get 2nd eye done. A few months later, the 2nd eye became blurred, local eye test found it had become opaque and needed another replacement lens. Glasses can’t rectify the problem. Mater informed – and I’m now on another waiting list, this time without my ‘inside’ contact that’s left the Mater.
The waiting lists are so bad in Waterford that you’re actually discouraged from even getting put on a list and are just told straight up to pay privately.
neurological alliance of Ireland announced the results of its survey and stats during ‘brain week’ this week. 20,000 waiting for first neurological consultant visit. I have waited ten years for a diagnosis, with nothing done in Ireland. I have now gone from being a rare disease patient, complex and sent to uk for care and investigation to coming back with a plan of action in 2016 and another in 2014 and nothing implemented. I have now got a ‘routine return’ appointment with the neurologist, only in Ireland can you go from complex rare diseases patient to ‘routine return.’
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