A plan by Minister for Health Simon Harris to reduce hospital in-patient waiting lists by the end of the year will not work without an increase in frontline staff and bed capacity, healthcare representatives and patient groups have said.
Mr Harris announced a five-point plan on Tuesday to tackle the waiting lists, saying he wanted to cut the number of people waiting more than 18 months for a procedure by 50 per cent, or about 7,500, by the end of this year.
The proposals include the reactivation of the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF), to allow patients to buy treatment privately.
However, his proposals were dismissed as a “stop-gap” measure by hospital consultants, while the main nursing representative body said the plans were inadequate unless there was also an increase in staffing.
The Irish Patients’ Association also said it had been operating under the “clear understanding” that several of the proposed measures, such as the clinical validation of waiting lists, were already being implemented.
Mr Harris said on Tuesday there was an urgent need for “targeted, funded actions” and sustained investment in waiting list initiatives.
He said some €50 million would be allocated in Budget 2017 to tackle waiting lists and that all hospital groups had been told to come up with a waiting list “improvement plan”.
Of the €50 million, at least €15 million will go to the NTPF.
The Special Delivery Unit within the Department of Health will oversee the plan.
An “improvement lead”, or manager, in each hospital group will be given responsibility for ensuring that the maximum number of procedures possible are carried out at each centre.
The Minister said a clinical validation of all in-patient waiting lists would also be carried out at the end of this month.
"For the first time in recent years, the HSE director-general [Tony O'Brien] has been able to say publicly and privately that the HSE is now adequately funded to deliver its service plan, which is very specific in relation to waiting lists," Mr Harris said on RTÉ's Morning Ireland programme.
Frontline staff
However, general secretary of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) Liam Doran said the plan to cut waiting lists would not work because there was not enough frontline staff in the health service.
There are 3,300 fewer nurses in the public system than there was in 2008, he said.
“That’s the core issue, not more layers of management overseeing what other layers of management should be doing.
“New people being employed to see if existing people are managing the system is the last thing we need ,” he said.
The president of the Irish Hospital Consultants Association, Dr Tom Ryan, said that while increased funding to address the growing waiting lists was welcome, it was a "stop-gap measure and does not provide a sustainable solution".
“Since 2008, the State has failed to invest in adequate public hospital capacity to provide care to an increasing number of patients,” he said.
Dr Ryan said the 2017 health budget needed to tackle the root causes of the growing waiting lists.
“Significantly increased capital investment is required in acute hospital and ICU beds, operating theatres and other essential facilities, together with an increase in frontline staffing, including consultants.”
Stephen McMahon of the Irish Patients’ Association said he was “very concerned” that the numbers on waiting lists had risen to 523,000, which was almost one-quarter of the number of patients who hold a medical card.
“It clearly shows the inequity of access to Irish healthcare,” he said.
Tuesday’s announcement came as the INMO said its records showed the number of admitted patients waiting on trolleys in emergency departments hit record levels in July.
Minister for Health’s five-point plan to cut waiting lists
1. Allocate €50 million in Budget 2017 to tackle waiting lists, including €15 million for the National Treatment Purchase Fund. €1 million ringfenced for endoscopy procedures.
2. Clinical validation of all in-patient waiting lists at the end of August to ensure accuracy. Doctors to ensure lists are chronologically accurate.
3. Special Delivery Unit (SDU) to oversee implementation of waiting list improvement plan.
4. SDU to appoint an “improvement lead” for each hospital group to ensure hospitals are carrying out the maximum number of procedures possible.
5. HSE to produce specific waiting list proposals for this year and to tell the Minister if any money should be ringfenced for specific procedures.