€143m NTPF branded as ‘daft’ waste of money

A FLAGSHIP €143 million health scheme to get patients off waiting lists by paying for them to go private has been criticised after figures show more than a third of those helped were treated in the same hospital that left them languishing in the first place.

TDs branded the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) a “daft” waste of money that benefited commercial health “speculators” more than the sick.

The initiative, set-up to purchase care in the Irish and British private systems for those waiting longest, has dealt with 35,000 patients since its launch in 2002 and been heralded a major success by Tánaiste and Health Minister Mary Harney.