National Treatment Purchase Fund

Information

The National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) was set up to take public patients who have been waiting longest for procedures in public hospitals off waiting lists. The Minister for Health and Children has allocated special funding for the NTPF, allowing the NTPF to continue to make arrangements to treat those waiting longest on public hospital waiting lists. The NTPF will arrange for patients who have been waiting longest on public hospital waiting lists to be treated in private hospitals in Ireland. Treatments available under the NTPF range from cardiac surgery to hip replacements to treatment for varicose veins and cataracts.

Between June 2002 and December 2009 a total of 165,000 people had received treatment under this Fund.

A national treatment purchase team appointed by the Minister for Health and Children manage the Fund and work closely with Health Service Executive (HSE) Areas. An online national waiting time list, called the Patient Treatment Register was launched on 9 September 2005 on a phased basis. The Register currently applies to forty-four hospitals.

The National Treatment Purchase Fund:

• Aims to reduce waiting times for patients longest on public hospital waiting lists
• Will arrange and purchase treatment for public patients
• Will only arrange treatment with the permission of each patient
• Will arrange treatment in a confidential manner
• Is committed to assuring and monitoring quality standards in relation to clinical treatment and patient care
• Is committed to ensuring that you are satisfied with the quality of care and communication you experience under this initiative.

Patients who receive treatment under the NTPF will generally be treated by a different, qualified consultant in a private hospital in Ireland.

Rules

National Health Strategy

The National Health Strategy launched in November 2001 set out a number of commitments by the Government to addressing the issue of waiting lists for procedures. The Health Strategy lays down that:

• No adult will wait longer than 6 months and no child longer than 3 months to begin treatment following referral from an out-patient department of a public hospital.
• By the end of 2004, no public patient will wait longer than 3 months.

At the moment waiting times vary between 3 months and 12 months, depending on the hospital or the procedure needed.

Treatment

Arrangements for treatment for patients in hospitals may only be made with the consent of the patient.

Consultants who treat patients under the NTPF must be fully registered and possess specialist qualifications and experience in the same manner as is expected in the Irish public health service.

Your medical treatment is completely confidential. The only people who will see your clinical file are your transferring consultant, the NTPF liaison officers and the consultant and nursing staff in the hospital you will treated in.

If you need to have a follow-up patient appointment with the consultant who treated you, the appointment will be made for you or you will be given the information to make it. The NTPF liaison officer will contact your local Health Service Executive (HSE) Area and update it on your treatment once you are ready to leave hospital. The liaison officer will also make sure that any follow-up care arrangements are made for you. If you have any questions following your operation, you should contact the NTPF liaison officer in your local HSE Area or hospital.

If you need any supplies or prescriptions, you can obtain them in the normal way from your GP.

If you experience medical problems after you are discharged from hospital, you should:

• Contact your GP, who will refer you back to the consultant who treated you if he or she thinks it is necessary.
• Go to the Accident and Emergency Department of your local hospital if the problem is serious.
• Contact the NTPF liaison officer in your local HSE Area or hospital if you are not sure what to do.

Rates

Treatment is provided free of charge under the NTPF.

How to apply

You will be contacted by the hospital or Health Service Executive (HSE) Area where you are on the waiting list to enquire about whether you are interested in receiving treatment under the NTPF. The hospital or HSE Area will ask for your permission to arrange treatment for you under the scheme to transfer your medical records to the doctor or hospital where you will be treated.

The NTPF will then arrange treatment for you. The NTPF liaison officer from your hospital or HSE Area will inform you about where your proposed treatment will take place and who your treating consultant will be, and will be available to discuss any concerns you have. Your treatment will only proceed when you are fully advised of these details, and with your full agreement.

If you require more information or a patient booklet, contact the NTPF Patient Care Liaison Officer on Lo-call 1890-720-820 (calls are charged at local rates). Alternatively, you can contact your GP, Consultant or the Patient Liaison Officer for the public hospital you are attending.

Where To Apply