Information for Patients and Public FAQs

An outpatient appointment is where you come to the hospital to meet with a Consultant. A Consultant is a highly trained medical doctor who can:

• carry out tests
• establish what is needed
• give medical advice about your symptoms or condition
• provide treatment

You may need to have a test or scan at your appointment, or there may be a need to arrange for you to come back on another day for a test or scan. As an outpatient you will not stay overnight at the hospital. 

An appointment for a procedure may be made following an outpatient appointment, on the recommendation of a patient’s consultant. 

For day case procedures, a patient will not remain in the hospital overnight. For inpatient procedures, patients will remain in the hospital overnight. 

You should contact your public hospital to receive an update on where you stand on the waiting list.

• the patient must be on a waiting list
• the patient must be ready, fit and available to proceed with treatment
• the patient must be deemed clinically suitable for treatment elsewhere by their public hospital
• the patient must be waiting for a treatment that the NTPF has been able to source 

Patients should contact their public hospital waiting list office to enquire about being seen in a private hospital through the NTPF.

There are hundreds of procedures available under the NTPF, and we regularly add to this list.  The top 10 procedures available through the NTPF are: 

1. Colonoscopies, OGDs and other scopes
2. Cataract surgery
3. Cystoscopies
4. Joint Replacements
5. Angiograms
6. Lesions
7. Tonsillectomies
8. Varicose veins
9. Laparoscopic cholecystectomies
10. Septoplasties 

If you wish to find out if a particular procedure is available through the NTPF, please call us on 01 6427101 or email ask@ntpf.ie for more information. 

The NTPF arranges the treatment of patients on the Outpatient Waiting list for a full package of care. This means a patient who accepts an outpatient offer will be seen for their consultation in a private hospital, and if there is a requirement for any related procedure(s), all treatment(s) will also be carried out in the private hospital rather than placing the patient back onto the public Inpatient/Day case Waiting List.  

The NTPF can currently offer adults an outpatient appointment on the following waiting lists: 

• Cardiology
• Orthopaedic Surgery
• General Surgery
• ENT (otolaryngology)
• Ophthalmology
• Urology
• Gynaecology
• Vascular Surgery
• Plastic Surgery
• Maxillo-Facial Surgery
• Gastro-enterology
• Pain Medicine

The NTPF can currently offer children an outpatient appointment on the following waiting list:

• Paediatric ENT (Otolaryngology)   

Patients will receive letters from the NTPF offering treatment in a private hospital. The letter will contain an information sheet outlining details of the offer. At the bottom of the letter, you are asked if you wish to accept the offer, remain on your local waiting list or be removed from the waiting list. Patients are asked to kindly complete this section of the form, and return your response to the NTPF via the free postal envelope enclosed. If you have any specific queries about the offer, please contact the phone number on the letter to  discuss the offer.

The NTPF will sometimes contact patients who have previously rejected the offer of an outpatient appointment in a private hospital, to give the patient more information about the offer. This is an opportunity to ask more questions about the offer, and you may wish to change your mind and accept the offer of the appointment. 

In general, a patient should receive contact from their private hospital within 6 weeks of accepting an offer. 

In the first instance, you should contact the private hospital where you were treated, if you have queries following treatment. However, if you are still not happy with the outcome you should email the details to ask@ntpf.ie  

The NTPF makes offers of treatment in private hospitals where the available capacity exists. When making an offer of treatment or an appointment, the NTPF takes the patient’s address into consideration. It may be the case that a patient is offered an appointment in a private hospital which is not near them because closer private hospitals do not have the capacity to treat them.

If your medical condition has changed, please ensure you contact your GP to discuss these changes. If your GP feels it is appropriate, they will contact your consultant to discuss your case further. 

When a patient has been sent to a private hospital for a full package of care through the NTPF, the NTPF will cover the costs of the patient’s consultation, and any further testing and / or procedure that may be needed. This includes any physio sessions or other treatment deemed necessary by the consultant. 

The NTPF does not cover the costs of any medication prescribed.

A patient seen in a private hospital under an NTPF funded initiative will not have to pay for any part of their treatment relating to that procedure in the private hospital. If you have already paid for a part of your treatment, please contact the NTPF on 01 6427101 or email us on ask@ntpf.ie  

No. The NTPF does not fund the cost of travel to and from hospitals. This is outlined to the patient at the point of offer to allow the patient to make an informed decision.

No. The NTPF does not fund the cost of accommodation when a patient travels to a private hospital. This is outlined to the patient at the point of offer to allow the patient to make an informed decision.

No. The NTPF is unable to reimburse a patient for treatment the patient arranged and paid for privately. The NTPF cannot refund patients directly. The NTPF can only pay a private hospital for patient treatment that was arranged in advance between the NTPF and the private hospital.

You have received this letter because your hospital is contacting you to see if you still require an appointment / procedure or wish to be removed from a hospital waiting list.   

You can respond by completing the section of the letter asking whether you still wish to remain on the waiting list or if you wish to be removed, and return it in the prepaid return envelope included. Or, you can respond online by scanning the QR code or logging on to www.waitinglist.ie. You will be prompted to enter the access code and your date of birth, both of which are included in the letter. 

Yes. Responding online is safe. The NTPF has ensured that all possible security and GDPR protocols are adhered to which will keep your information confidential and safe.

No, choose one method of response either by returning the letter in the prepaid envelope or scanning the QR code. 

If you have responded “yes”, you will remain on the waiting list and scheduled in line with the hospitals scheduling policy.  

If you have responded “no”, your waiting list entry will be reviewed by the hospital and you may be removed from the waiting list with a letter sent to you and your GP to confirm that you have been removed from the waiting list. 

Data is retained for 90 days and then it is deleted once there is no further use for the information in line with the NTPF’s GDPR policy. 

Please note that scanning the QR code should never ask for details such as bank account or personal details. Please check the app you are using to scan the QR code and if this information is being requested, log on directly to www.waitinglist.ie  

Unfortunately, the hospital will not be able to contact everyone who has been validated, due to the high volume of patients we write to on the hospital’s behalf. However, if for whatever reason, the hospital does not receive your response, they will be in contact with you and your GP. 

Should you have a query in relation to your expected appointment date, there are contact details for the hospital’s scheduled care team at the bottom of the validation letter. Alternatively, the NTPF currently collects and collates information in respect of Inpatient, Day Case, Planned Procedure and Outpatient Waiting Lists. Click Waiting List Reports  to access Hospital Waiting list data by speciality for Adult and Children to review anticipated waiting times.  

While every effort is made to update hospital records once a patient is deceased, the hospital is not always informed of a patient’s passing. In such instances, we apologise for any distress caused by receiving a validation letter, and would request that the hospital’s scheduled care team is informed (telephone number included on the letter) to prevent any further communications.  

The NTPF facilitates the sending of validation letters only on behalf of the hospital. The hospital you are referred to will always remain your point of contact. 

For hospitals to offer the quickest appointments to patients, it is necessary that we continue to check our waiting lists. Unfortunately, some lists are long and we may therefore need to write to you more than once to ensure you still require treatment. We regret that you might be waiting a long time, but encourage you to respond to any letter you receive. 

Please ensure your date of birth has been entered exactly as documented on your validation letter.  This information is contained in the top right-hand corner of your validation letter. 

Please contact the hospital through the number provided on the letter and ask them to update your information.

Yes. If you have been removed from the waiting list in error or by oversight, please contact your hospital. The Scheduled Care Team will add you back onto the waiting list from your original referral received date.