Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for that and for the acknowledgement of the work that healthcare workers have done. Every one of us, including every member of the committee and myself, talk to healthcare workers a lot. We in the Oireachtas quite rightly focus on what is not working, as does the media, because those are the areas in which we need to redouble our efforts. However, there is very little discussion of all of the progress being made relative to the very real challenges that exist. It gets to healthcare workers and demoralises them. I used to work with the NHS in the UK and I found the same thing. They are working in a world where all they hear about is the bad. There are challenges and we must not shy away from them but it does get to them and it is important that they hear from the Deputy and from us in the Oireachtas that their efforts are appreciated and, critically, that their efforts are working on behalf of patients. They are not working perfectly or universally, but they are working.

I certainly echo the comments of the Chair and Deputy Durkan regarding the North and the South. If there is any sector where an all-island approach is in the best interests of every man, woman and child on the island, it is the healthcare sector. We had a fantastic announcement recently regarding a North-South initiative, Daisy Lodge. The Altnagelvin Donegal-Derry-Letterkenny partnerships are essential. I echo those comments and look forward to seeing any note that comes through.

Productivity is a core focus. We have done a lot of work on this over the last two years and what we have found is that some areas are doing very well and other areas are not. Some individual clinical teams are doing very well and others are not. There are big differences between hospitals and between specialties. There are some significant differences over time. We now have the information systems in place. Over the past two or three years, we have put in the things we need to enable more productivity, like moving from five days a week to seven days a week, the new public health contract, safe staffing and the beginnings of new IT systems, which are long overdue. We cannot just demand productivity. We have to support our healthcare workers in achieving productivity. In recent years, we have been putting those supports in place. We now have a big focus on it. I will finish on this but I will come back to the other points the Deputy raised if there is time. I have spoken with experienced senior clinicians in the health service about this productivity challenge and they are up for it. They are up for the challenge and up for treating more patients, but we have to help them. We cannot just tell them to work longer and harder. They need the necessary IT systems, outpatient clinics, access to theatres and flexibility in their contracts. We have to help them to do it but those I have spoken to are very much up for the challenge on behalf of patients.