AQW 14785/22-27


Mr John Blair
Alliance Party
South Antrim


Tabled Date: 11/09/2024
Answered On Date: 26/09/2024
Priority Written: No


Question:
To ask the Minister of Health whether he plans to reintroduce the Republic of Ireland Reimbursement Scheme.


Answer:
A bid for funding for a replacement scheme was submitted to the Department of Finance during this year’s budget setting process. The Reimbursement Scheme bid of £31million was part of a wider bid for £135million of additional funding to tackle waiting lists. It was intended that a new reimbursement scheme could have treated over 4,000 patients this financial year. This was in addition to a separate bid of £53million, within the wider £135million, specifically to address some 4,400 patients waiting over 2 years for orthopaedic procedures.
Unfortunately, under the 2024/25 Budget, no additional funding has been provided for tackling our waiting lists. Instead of now being able to invest in such waiting list initiatives, my Department’s budget allocation for 2024/25 represents a 2.3% reduction in funding compared to our expenditure in 2023/24.
This is a deeply regrettable and concerning position. As such, there is insufficient funding at present to reinstate a cross-border reimbursement scheme.
The financial pressures across the Health and Social Care (HSC) system are certainly severe and the 2024/25 budget outcome falls far short of what is needed to tackle the unacceptable waiting lists. Therefore, my Department’s focus is on supporting those on suspect cancer and time critical waiting lists.
While the £121m received in the June 2024/25 monitoring round makes some contribution to reducing the deficit position facing the HSC system, a significant shortfall still remains. As some £75m of this had already been factored into our 2024-25 financial plan, the remaining £46m will reduce the HSC Trust funding shortfall to £143m with a total gap of £293m.
The financial position therefore remains very challenging and work continues across the HSC system to deliver the maximum possible savings and efficiency.