To ask the Minister of Health what consideration he has given to allowing reimbursement for patients who access treatment in private hospitals or clinics within Northern Ireland under the Waiting List Reimbursement Scheme.

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 previous 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.