NTPF to face Public Accounts Committee over CHI oversight and funding concerns

TDs raise alarm over patient safety and public funding as NTPF suspends insourcing at Children’s Health Ireland

Social Democrats TD Aidan Farrelly on the Plinth at Leinster House. Picture: Leah Farrell/© RollingNews.ie

The National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) must appear before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to answer questions about its oversight arrangements, a PAC member has said.

Social Democrats TD Aidan Farrelly has written to the committee’s chair, calling for the NTPF to be added to its programme for this term.

"The budget of the NTPF has increased exponentially in recent years and now stands at more than €220m this year alone," said Mr Farrelly.

"However, recent scandals at Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) have raised serious concerns about the NTPF’s oversight of the allocation of public money for insourcing treatment."

He added that the NTPF’s decision to suspend all funding for insourcing at CHI suggests a lack of confidence in existing monitoring systems.

While it is welcome that the NTPF has begun reviewing its operations at CHI, The Kildare TD said the results must be brought before PAC and thoroughly examined.

"It must also provide assurances that the problems identified in insourcing at CHI are neither replicated across the country nor repeated when it comes to outsourcing treatment."

CHI has also received a letter asking it to appear before the Oireachtas health committee with the chairperson, Social Democrats' Pádraig Rice, saying that there is a long list of questions waiting for them.

"We want to know what changes were made on foot of the [HIQA] report, were changes made, what changes were made, are they being implemented?" Mr Rice said on RTÉ's Six One News.

"We know what happened, we now need to know why it happened."

In his letter to CHI, Mr Rice said he asked for the full report to be published ahead of an appearance before the committee.

"It is important to see public funds being used well and used for their core purpose which is to reduce waiting lists and not to be used for people to make additional money," said Mr Rice.

"The review being conducted by the NTPF must be thorough but must also be quick so as to ensure that it does not have a negative impact on patients in terms of waiting lists."

Labour TD Marie Sherlock said she is deeply concerned that what is happening with CHI waiting lists is “highly likely” to be occurring elsewhere in the health service.

"It is abundantly clear that patient safety has taken a backseat across the health service," said Ms Sherlock.

"I am deeply concerned that what is happening at CHI represents but a microcosm of the scale of abuses across the health sector. With more questions than answers, we need to hear in detail from the board of CHI, the minister and the CEO of the HSE."

Labour TD Marie Sherlock said she is deeply concerned that what is happening with CHI waiting lists is “highly likely” to be occurring elsewhere in the health service. Picture: SAM BOAL/Collins Photos

Referring to the allegations involving an individual consultant, she warned that "the rights of one individual simply cannot trump patient safety".

The Labour health spokesperson said extracts of CHI’s internal review paint a "damning picture of a broken culture", and urged that the full report be published to provide transparency for affected families.

On Wednesday, health minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill asked parents for patience, saying: “Sit with me just for a week or 10 days” to allow the NTPF to complete its work.

"The NTPF has already assured that existing surgery scheduled will not be impacted but our concern is we need to make sure that this isn't happening anywhere else in the system," she said.

Health minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill asked parents for patience, saying: “Sit with me just for a week or 10 days” to allow the NTPF to complete its work.

Ms Carroll MacNeill also revealed that the NTPF only recently became aware that no referral had been made to the National Patient Safety Office, nor had any notification been sent to the department of health.

"Let's not underestimate the impact of that, nor was there a referral to the department or a notification to any of us. So that's not a satisfactory way of managing that, and I expect that to be very, very different," Ms Carroll MacNeill told RTÉ Radio's Morning Ireland.

She stressed the need for the NTPF to prevent cases where children wait so long that they end up on the NTPF list unnecessarily, missing earlier opportunities for surgical intervention.

"That is the bigger issue and that is what raises such particular concerns around the issues in this report but it also raises the broader patient safety concerns and what we need to do is make sure that that is happening in the most productive way in the public system in every discipline," said Ms Carroll MacNeill.

The minister added that, alongside the audit, there will be a move towards a centralised referral system. Under the proposed change, children referred for surgery would be added to a central list rather than being assigned to a specific consultant, improving transparency and equity.