Minister announces reimbursement scheme to help with hospital waiting lists

Health Minister Mike Nesbitt has announced a package of initiatives to tackle hospital waiting lists in Northern Ireland, including a reimbursement scheme.

An initial £10 million will be invested in the scheme, allowing people to claim back costs when they receive treatments outside Northern Ireland, subject to qualifying criteria.

Beginning in June, it will apply to procedures obtained in the Republic of Ireland and will subsequently be extended to the rest of the European Union.

The reimbursement scheme will be available to patients waiting two years or more on a hospital treatment waiting list in Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland currently has the worst hospital waiting lists of any area in the UK.

Patients who take part in the new scheme will require prior approval from the Department of Health.

The health minister said: “These planned investments reflect the Executive’s ringfencing of up to £215 million in this year’s health budget for waiting list activities, in line with the finalised Programme for Government.

“This breaks down into £85 million for red flag and time-critical care; £80 million for building up capacity to address the long-standing mismatch with demand; and up to £50 million to start tackling the backlog in care.

“Investment at this level will need to be sustained for at least five years to bring hospital waiting times down to acceptable levels.

“We are only at the foothills of what will be a long uphill trek.

“I will provide more details on the different initiatives later this month with publication of an implementation plan for my department’s Elective Care Framework.”

He added: “Only £50 million of the ringfenced £215m total has involved additional monies for my department.

“The initiatives being announced today are in large part being funded by monies diverted from my core budget for day-to-day services.

“That will have unavoidable consequences for wider health and social care provision.

“In the coming weeks, my department will publish detailed plans and assessments on the financial pressures this year and the measures that will be needed in both the short and medium terms.”

Other initiatives announced by Mr Nesbitt include:

– Targeting long waits – four years or more – including hip, knee and other orthopaedic treatments; tonsillectomies; hernia treatment; gallbladder removal and colonoscopy.

– Significantly reducing waiting lists for children requiring specialist procedures such as peg tubes, scopes and scoliosis surgery, as well as waiting times for women waiting for gynaecology mesh removal procedures.

– Partnership arrangements with independent sector providers to clear outpatient waits of four years plus in ophthalmology, orthopaedics; general surgery; gynaecology, ENT and other specialties.

– £10m in funding for “mega clinics” for an estimated 20,000 additional patients. These will provide groups of patients with a “one stop shop” which can involve, for example, surgical review and anaesthetic preoperative assessment in a single appointment.

– Expansion of red flag and time-critical capacity across a range of specialties including: endoscopy; diagnostic imaging; urology, breast surgery; dermatology; systemic anti-cancer therapy and cardiac surgery.

– Expansion of primary care elective service capacity in dermatology, minor surgery and gynaecology.

– Partnership working with the voluntary sector to deliver a £500,000 per year Waiting Well Programme to help and support those waiting for treatment and a £1 million per year Cancer Charities Programme to deliver cancer work in the community to reduce pressures on statutory services.