DUBLIN PATIENTS ON WAITING LISTS SHOULD CONTACT THEIR DOCTORS FOR PRIVATE TREATMENT

MINISTER URGES DOCTORS TO REFER PATIENTS


10th December, 2002: Mr Brian Lenihan, TD, Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children attended the National Treatment Purchase Fund’s information evening for South Dublin in the AMNCH Hospital in Tallaght today. The Minister urged attending general practitioners and healthcare personnel to encourage as many patients as possible to take up their entitlement to treatment. Under the NTPF 1,900 patients have so far been treated and almost half of these have been referred from the Dublin area.

The majority of the patients referred from the Dublin area have received treatment for Varicose Veins, ENT procedures, Plastic Surgery, Urology, Ophthalmology and Orthopaedic operations. Treating hospitals include St Vincent’s Private, Blackrock Clinic, Mater Private Hospital, Bons Secours Hospital, BUPA Liverpool, Hampshire Clinic near London, St Francis Hospital, Ballinderry and Mount Carmel.

The NTPF announced that it will achieve its target of 1,900 treated patients at the end of 2002. The Fund initially projected that out of the patients treated this year 400 would receive treatment in UK hospitals. However, there has been a shortage of UK referrals which means that despite patient willingness to travel to the UK for treatment, 375 beds have remained unused. Patients travelling to the UK for treatment can be assured of the highest standard of treatment and the Fund will put in place all the necessary travel and accommodation arrangements.

Speaking at the evening the Minister said, “There is no need for patients to wait any longer and I urge doctors to continue to refer patients. We would ask adults in the Dublin area, who are waiting over a year for a surgical procedure, or who have children waiting over six months for treatment, to contact their doctor or health board or phone the LoCall 1890 720 820 number. The process is simple and straightforward and eligible patients can receive treatment in a matter of weeks.”

If the NTPF is to clear its Group One list of 8,305 adults and children next year, it is essential that the rate of referrals to the UK increase. The Group One list will only be cleared if all of the available beds, fully funded and sourced by the NTPF, here and in the UK, are availed of.

The National Treatment Purchase Fund which will receive €31 million in 2003, is focused on treating the 6,805 adults and 1,500 patients who at March, 2002 had been waiting over a year for surgical treatment. The fund organises for their treatment to take place in a private hospital here, in the North or the UK. Treatment is entirely free and all necessary travelling costs will be met by the Fund.

The Fund has the capacity to treat 600 patients a month in 2003, 400 in hospitals in Ireland and 200 in four UK hospitals, two BUPA hospitals located in Liverpool and Manchester and two BMI hospitals located in Basingstoke and close to Heathrow.


10th December, 2002