Hospital refers 600 outpatients for care abroad

AROUND 600 patients are to be referred to the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) from the Cork area, following criticism that the scheme has not been used as effectively in the region as other parts of the country.

The announcement was made yesterday by officials from the Health Service Executive (Southern Forum), and comes after criticism from its own chairman, Cllr Ciaran Lynch, that Cork University Hospital was significantly behind other hospitals around the country when it came to using the important scheme.

Gerry O’Dwyer, network manager for the Southern Hospitals Group, said the NTPF is now to undertake an outpatient waiting list initiative at Cork University Hospital.