The NTPF arranges treatments for patients, provides independently assured waiting list information, develops systems and processes which contribute to health system reform, negotiates prices for nursing home care, and provides expert advice to the Minister for Health.
Almost 200,000 public patients had timely care arranged by the National Treatment Purchase Fund in 2025
The National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) today announced that it exceeded its targets set out in the 2025 Waiting List Action Plan (WLAP) by 11%.
A record 197,420 public patients had operations, procedures, and consultant appointments arranged by the NTPF in 2025, getting them the care they needed and removing them from public hospital waiting lists.
This includes 34,580 inpatient or day case procedures, 141,413 appointments to see a hospital consultant at an outpatient clinic and 21,427 GI scopes.
Approximately 32% of these public patients will have been facilitated in private hospitals, with the remainder facilitated through in-sourcing initiatives utilising additional capacity in public hospitals.
Commenting, Fiona Brady, CEO of the NTPF said, “public patients, public waiting lists and public funding form the basis of all that the NTPF does. We play a central role in Ireland’s public health care system, using a multi-agency strategic approach to help improve health outcomes for patients on public waiting lists”. She added that “good health is a shared responsibility, and in 2026 alongside the HSE and the Department of Health the NTPF will facilitate patients to get timelier access to care and move closer to Sláintecare targets”.
Alongside its commissioning work, the NTPF’s Validation function is responsible for checking the accuracy of public hospital waiting lists. Ms. Brady points out that “this involves contacting patients to verify their readiness and availability for care”. Over 955,000 patients were contacted by the end of the year, resulting in the safely managed removal of almost 145,000 patients from waiting lists who no longer require care. This results in faster treatment for those still on waiting lists by providing speedier access to care.
The NTPF gathers, organises, and reports information on outpatient, inpatient, and day case waiting lists. This plays a pivotal role in ensuring that hospitals have reliable data to plan services and respond to patient needs. Ms. Brady highlighted, “we process over 53 million patient waiting lists records annually and produce more than 25,000 reports. In doing so, we support hospitals, the wider health system, and other partners in improving access to care”.
Under the ‘Fair Deal’ scheme, the NTPF negotiates and enters into pricing agreements with HIQA-registered private and voluntary nursing homes; to agree and record the maximum price they can charge residents in receipt of funding under the Scheme. The NTPF has contracts in place with all 415 homes participating in the Fair Deal scheme, concluding 367 negotiations in 2025.
The NTPF has been assigned a budget of €200m for 2026. While acknowledging the budget cut of €30m, Ms. Brady advises that, “we will use our funding to continue our strong focus on improving waiting times for public patients. Together with the Minister for Health, her Department and the HSE, we are developing the WTAP for 2026 to build further on the collaborative approach and the positive progress made for patients this year”.
Ms. Brady’s vision for the future is to continue leading the NTPF as a “patient-first, data-driven, innovative organisation central to healthcare reform in Ireland, improved access to care and ensured transparency”.
ENDS
