Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 9 June 2021

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health

Update on Sláintecare: Department of Health

Ms Laura Magahy:

Each action has a set of deliverables in the plan. We could not go through it now, sorry. Everything that has been named has a budget. Many of the things that are in place are at an advanced stage. By the end of the three years we will have the multi-annual plan substantially implemented to reduce the waiting lists, so we will be well on the way to having the waiting lists down, we will have begun construction of the new elective hospitals, we will have rolled-out the Sláintecare consultant contract, we will have hired 7,000 new community-based staff, delivered 31 new primary care centres, invested in 32 community specialist hubs, and provided the next stage of the healthy communities. I will return to that. There will be 57 healthy communities in due course covering 250,000 people, with 18 happening this year. We will have mainstreamed access for patients to direct diagnostics, created the six new regional health areas, and established the new community healthcare networks. All this work has been enabled by the budget. Since last October's budget, we are in the position of being able to hire the right staff to put in place the infrastructure and properly get everything in place. It is substantially advanced. We will publish the quarter 1 report in the next couple of weeks. I want to assure the Deputy about that.

The intention on the RHA has not changed. It will be single budget. I will ask Ms Treleaven to come in on the regions.

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