Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their presentations and for the work they are doing. On the long-term planning, we have had a huge increase in population in the Cork area. Our hospital services are not able to cope with the demand. In the context of Covid, can the Minister tell me if there has been any engagement with the private hospitals in Cork as regards accessing facilities? For instance, I refer to accessing facilities in the Mater private hospital whereby the consultants from CUH were able to do day case procedures in gynaecological services and were able to significantly reduce the numbers on the waiting lists. Has there been engagement with the private hospitals about getting access to services? It is not necessarily about the private hospitals doing the services but that the consultants who cannot get operating space in, say, CUH or the other two hospitals would have access to other facilities to do the necessary, especially in respect of elective surgery and day case procedures.

For the Department of Health, the HSE and all those involved in responding to Covid it is in the here and now and is changing by the day. However, we also need to do long-term planning. Where are we in respect of the elective hospital for Cork? My understanding is that the South/South West Hospital Group has made a submission to the HSE at central level but the HSE has not sent the information on to the Department. Perhaps that would be clarified. Why is there a delay? Even if we identified a site today, to go through the planning process and get it built and delivered would take another three to four years. We are already in serious trouble in Cork regarding health services. There has been a population increase of 130,000 in a very short time. We need to take action. It is not about putting it on the long finger.

I wish to return to an issue that was talked about earlier, namely, the fast turnaround of testing. I raised this matter yesterday when representatives of the HSE were before the committee. I understand that schools in Vienna are turning around test results within 30 minutes. Has that been looked at? Could we do it in our schools and colleges?