Dr. Áine Carroll:

I thank members for their questions, which show a patient-centred attitude towards health services. I also thank members for their comment on the work being done to implement significant change at a time of financial hardship. I acknowledge the work of the front-line staff in implementing significant change, the benefits of which we are beginning to see. I thank Senator Crown for raising the issue of rehabilitation medicine, a subject very close to my heart. In the rehabilitation medicine programme there is a plan to develop managed clinical networks in the four regions as they currently stand. I am glad to report that five rehabilitation medicine consultant posts have just been approved in the consultant appointments committee and I hope we will soon advertise for those posts. There will be an extra ten beds staffed at the National Rehabilitation Hospital and although in terms of specialist inpatient rehabilitation beds that still falls significantly short of what is required for the population it is a significant development. With the new rehabilitation medicine consultant posts going into the regions the intention is that there will be a development of four inpatient and ambulatory units for the management of neurological and other disabling conditions which will be an excellent development. It is likely with the work being done to look at the development of major trauma centres that there will be an increased need for specialist inpatient and outpatient and, obviously, community services, as the sustaining services are incredibly important.

Moving on to deal with the questions about ambulance waiting times and trolleys, a group of clinical care programmes is looking specifically at the area of unscheduled care. We are working closely with the special delivery unit, SDU, and also with my colleague, Mr. Colm Henry, who is the national lead for the clinical directors.