Tim O'Malley (Limerick East, Progressive Democrats)

It is regrettable that some patients have their operations postponed, and everyone recognises that it can cause upset and inconvenience to them and their families. The public hospital system endeavours to keep postponements to a minimum and to have postponed operations rescheduled as soon as possible. However, owing to the nature of the demands on the acute hospital system, in some instances it is necessary to reschedule planned treatment when priority must be given to emergency cases or for a variety of other reasons, such as infection control.

The issue of postponing elective admissions to hospital was highlighted last week in the case of St. James's Hospital. The HSE, having been made aware of recent pressure on ICU capacity at St. James's Hospital, has offered full support to hospital management to fast-track post-acute patients to other settings and free ICU beds. Discussions have also begun with hospital management with a view to increasing the number of high-dependency beds at St. James's Hospital.

The HSE has advised me that intensive care capacity at the hospital has increased over the past three years, with an additional five intensive care beds now available on top of the existing nine. It is also worth noting that overall bed numbers at St. James's Hospital have increased by 140 in recent years.

The Minister has already mentioned the increase in consultant numbers in 2006. Of the 125 additional consultants approved in 2006, the greatest number last year was in psychiatry, owing in part to the implementation of the Mental Health Act 2001. In 2006, as part of the growth in mental health services to improve capacity and fulfil the requirements of the Mental Health Act 2001, the HSE established an additional 18 multidisciplinary teams in adult psychiatry. In 2006, some 383 new posts were created in mental health. This year, the HSE will have 254 extra posts. An additional 1,800 posts are envisaged during the seven-year lifetime of A Vision for Change.

The Government is taking measures to ensure that Ireland produces enough suitably trained doctors to meet the needs of the Irish health service by implementing the reforms in medical education and training outlined in the Fottrell and Buttimer reports.

A co-ordinated approach to policy-making undertaken in the area across the education and health sectors includes stronger workforce planning. A legislative and structural framework will also be put in place to improve the governance and delivery of medical education and training. Associated initiatives include curriculum reform, doubling the number of medical places for Irish and EU students, the introduction of a new graduate entry system and implementation of graduate retention policies.

The Government is committed to investment and reform in the health services. We are confident that there are gains to be made from a radical restructuring of the system in efficiency, effectiveness and value for money. I will not understate the scale of the task before us. There are no quick fixes, and many challenges lie ahead. However, the system's potential will be realised only through a combination of continuing investment and reform.

See this speech in context