Mr. Gerry O'Dwyer:

With your permission, Chairman, I do not propose to go through the document in full because members will wish to ask many questions and we have a very big agenda.

At the outset, it is important to acknowledge that there have been a number of issues relating to St. Vincent's Hospital over the last number of weeks. We will address those issues today. My colleague, Professor Gallagher, will provide an update on the national clinical programmes and the work that is being undertaken in conjunction with Ms Mary Godfrey. Phenomenal work has been done over the past year and that will continue. Professor Gallagher will give a comprehensive update. It is important to watch the patient care pathway, which will assist in the patient's journey from diagnosis through to the necessary care. Mr. Jermyn, chief executive officer of St. Vincent's Hospital, will outline the issues that surfaced in the media and the representations that were made to Oireachtas Members about St. Vincent's Hospital.

I wish to reaffirm the HSE's commitment to working with the Cystic Fibrosis Association of Ireland and with the clinical programmes, as well as with St. Vincent's Hospital, to ensure a comprehensive, high quality care pathway is in place. The partnership approach we have taken to address the issues surrounding admission and discharge at St. Vincent's Hospital has been ongoing for the last couple of weeks. Hopefully, we will conclude our discussions with all parties by next Monday week. I will revert to the Chairman on that.

As members are aware, cystic fibrosis is the most common life threatening inherited disease, primarily affecting the lungs and digestive system. Ireland has one of the highest reported incidences of CF in the world. One in 19 of the Irish population is a carrier of the disease, and the incidence of CF in Ireland is almost four times the average rate in other European countries. At present, there are 1,136 individuals registered with CF in Ireland, of whom 594 are adults and 477 are children under the age of 18 years. The prevalence of the disease will increase as the rate of survival improves. While the number of children born with CF every year is anticipated to remain stable, the number of adults with CF is increasing. This results in increasing numbers of adults requiring health care services each year.

I wish to refer to newborn screening before handing over to Professor Gallagher to outline the excellent work that is taking place on the programmes. Then Mr. Jermyn will contribute, because it is important that people are reassured about the work being undertaken by the management of St. Vincent's Hospital. An important and significant issue is the screening of newborns for cystic fibrosis. This is covered on page 4 of the document given to members. This was introduced on 1 July 2011 and is an integral component of the newborn blood spot screening programme called NNBSP. It is anticipated that between 40 and 50 infants with cystic fibrosis will be identified each year. The introduction of the screening will result in earlier diagnosis and there are significant benefits for children and families as a consequence. Any infant who is identified as having a high risk of cystic fibrosis is referred to one of the six specialist centres - Cork University Hospital, the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Limerick, University College Hospital Galway, the National Children's Hospital in Tallaght, Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin and the Children's University Hospital in Temple Street. Babies diagnosed through newborn screening have improved nutrition, improved lung function and fewer admissions to hospitals. They require fewer antibiotics, which is really important, and have improved surival.

The rest of the report is in the submission. At this stage I will ask Professor Gallagher to give an outline of the programme. It has been a significant work in progress and it is important that members of the committee get an overview of it.