The National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) is responsible for the collection, collation and validation of Inpatient, Day Case and Outpatient waiting lists.

The IPDC Waiting List Open Data report shows the total number of people waiting, across the various time bands, for Inpatient and Day case treatment in each Specialty (these numbers do not include GI Endoscopies, see separate report).

Statistical Disclosure Control (SDC) techniques have been applied to the data to preserve confidentiality and mitigate against identification or self-identification of individuals. In cases where there are less than 5 people in any particular cell, that value has been replaced with the average (mean) of all values that are less than 5 across that category. Any decimal values which arise have then been rounded. This may cause some rounding to occur when calculating sub-totals.

Where there are less than 20 people waiting in a particular specialty/hospital, the numbers have been aggregated under a ‘Small Volume’ heading

The Children’s Health Act 2018 came into effect on 1st January 2019. Under this act, Children’s Health Ireland was established and all assets, liabilities and records were transferred from Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital Crumlin, Temple Street Children’s University Hospital and National Children's Hospital at Tallaght University Hospital to the new body. From 1st January 2019, all NTPF reports reflect this change and data from the three sites of Children’s Health Ireland are reported as one entity. On the 31st of July 2019 Children's Health Ireland opened a new Paediatric Outpatient Department and Urgent Care Centre at CHI Connolly in Blanchardstown. The waiting lists for this site are incorporated into the Children's Health Ireland figures.

Please note that NTPF does not collect activity data, i.e., numbers treated or removed. A snapshot of the number of patients waiting in each hospital is collected and published, monthly, on the NTPF website.

Boards and management of individual public hospitals are responsible for the accuracy and the integrity of patient data submitted to NTPF.

The NTPF commenced publishing separate Adult and Child Waiting List Reports in April 2021. The Open Data report formats reflect this change from that date forward.