AQW 6114/22-27
Mrs Ciara Ferguson
Sinn Féin
Foyle
Tabled Date: 12/02/2024
Answered On Date: 15/02/2024
Priority Written: No
Question:
To ask the Minister of Health (i) how many patients benefited from the Cross-Border Healthcare Scheme, broken down by Health and Social Care Trust; and (ii) what consideration he has given to reintroduce the Cross-Border Healthcare Scheme.
Answer:
Following the UK exit from the EU the Cross-Border Healthcare Directive (CBHD) no longer applies in the UK. The provisions for the CBHD in NI domestic legislation were revoked and there was an orderly closedown of the scheme with remaining reimbursements being processed by the Health and Social Care Board (HSCB) in 2021/22. As you will be aware, I introduced the Republic of Ireland Reimbursement Scheme (RoIRS) on 30 June 2021 as part of the Elective Care Framework to help reduce NI waiting lists. The scheme was a limited 12-month administrative version of the Cross-Border Healthcare Directive (CBHD) which ceased to apply to NI following the UK’s exit from the EU. In June 2022, I announced that the RoIRS would be extended beyond the planned 30 June 2022 deadline, until an additional £5m of new funding had been committed. The RoIRS closed to new applications on Wednesday 21 September 2022 when the additional £5m funding had been exhausted. In response to your enquiry the number of patients that benefited from the RoIRS scheme broken down by Health and Social Care Trust is as follows – Western Health and Social Care Trust – 708 Southern Health and Social Care Trust – 889 South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust – 561 Northern Health and Social Care Trust – 771 Belfast Health and Social Care Trust - 346 Any future funding allocation to a similar scheme to help reduce waiting lists will now need to be considered as part of a broader review of resource investment in Waiting List Initiatives.
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