AQW 27122/22-27

Ms Paula Bradshaw
Alliance Party
South Belfast

Tabled Date: 14/05/2025
Answered On Date: 10/06/2025
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Health, in relation to the Waiting List Reimbursement Scheme, to outline the rationale of having Health and Social Care NI pay for people to avail of private treatment or procedures in the European Union but not in Northern Ireland.

Answer:

The Waiting List Reimbursement Scheme is based on the Cross-Border Healthcare Directive which allowed patients to get reimbursed for healthcare treatment outside Northern Ireland and GB. As I outlined in my statement there is other work ongoing with Independent Sector Providers in Northern Ireland as part of a package of initiatives to tackle hospital care backlogs.