The HSE and Department of Health have refused to confirm whether a promised €18 million funding injection promised some months ago to help cut public treatment waiting lists has actually materialised.

Despite the promise of additional funding back in May, little progress has been reported in cutting treatment and outpatient waiting lists since then.

However, neither the Department of Health nor the HSE could clarify to irishhealth.com whether the additional funding, described at the time as an 'intervention fund' to be made available to tackle waiting lists, has actually been provided and if it has been spent on cutting lists.

Latest figures from the Department of Health show the total number of people on treatment waiting lists at the end of September was 49,496, compared to 49,695 in August and 41,732 in September 2012.

The September figures also show that the number of patients waiting over nine months for procedures dropped slightly to 4,473 at the end of September, compared to 4,729 the previous month. However, only 433 patients were waiting over nine months for treatment in September 2012.

A total of 386,384 people were on hospital outpatient lists at the end of September, compared to 374,105 at the end of August. Currently, 8,000 children are waiting more than a year to see a consultant in outpatients at Crumlin and Temple Street Hospitals.

The Department of Health says there has been an 18% reduction since March in the numbers waiting over a year for an outpatient appointment. However, the numbers coming on to outpatient lists and waiting between zero and six months have increased recently

Back in May, Minister Reilly announced that €18 million in funding was to be targeted at improvements in inpatient, outpatient waiting lists and trolley numbers. This followed a surge in treatment waiting lists in the early part of this year, after significant reductions in the numbers waiting throughout 2012.

Helath Minister James Reilly said the surge was mainly due to the longer than usual winter weather in the early part of 2013 putting extra pressure on hospital beds.

Five hospitals in particular with excessive trolley waits and treatment lists were to be targeted, including Beaumont and Cork University Hospital.

The National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) under the control of the Department, and the Special Delivery Unit (SDU), under the control of the HSE, currently manages waiting lists. However, neither could provide any details on the spending of the extra funds.

Asked by irishhealth.com whether the €18 million promised to cut lists had been allocated and if it was having any effect on lists, the Department of Health said the query should be put to the HSE.

The HSE, after a four-week wait for a response, did not provide details on if and how the money had been spent.

Asked about the source of the promised extra funding, the HSE said the SDU was part of the HSE and any funding made available to it this year was from within the HSE budget.

However, the HSE told irishhealth.com last month that it had to date this year only received only €1.17 million for SDU activity. The HSE has also said it spent €4.1 million earlier this year to ease service pressures in hospitals and to increase intensive care unit capacity on three hospital sites.

It remains unclear, however, what was the source of the €18 million promised in May and if it was spent.

The total waiting list initiative allocation to the NTPF at the beginning of this year was was cut by 63% to around €14 million. The NTPF has had a further cut of 64% in its allocation for next year. Just under €10 million of this was allocated to meet liabilities from work carried out in 2012 to cut waiting lists, according to the Department.