Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

I will take this Adjournment matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Health and Children.

Both the Government and the Health Service Executive are committed to continuing to improve and expand services at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital and Louth County Hospital in the short and medium term. In the longer term, a new state-of-the-art regional hospital will be built in the north east.

Over the past five years, the level of revenue funding allocated to both Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital and Louth County Hospital has increased significantly. The current revenue funding for Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital has increased from €36 million to €115 million, an increase of 219%, and in the case of Louth County Hospital, from €10 million to €28 million, an increase of 180%. Over the same period, staffing numbers across the two hospitals have increased by 225.

In the case of Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, a new three-storey development approved by the HSE is scheduled to be fully completed by April 2009. This development will allow for a 25-bed accident and emergency assessment area and a further two floors will be utilised to provide some additional facilities and space for critical care, general medicine and general surgical departments. The 25-bay accident and emergency facility is scheduled by the HSE to be fully operational by April of next year.

With regard to maternity services at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, the HSE has advised that it has approved 22 new midwife posts and two specialist nurse posts as well as three new consultant anaesthetist posts. The HSE will continue to monitor staffing levels within the maternity services unit at the hospital relative to demand.

Urgent care facilities will be developed at Dundalk. It is intended when the new regional hospital is established, that Louth County Hospital will retain this urgent care service providing a significant service to a large proportion of patients from Dundalk. Extensive electrical work has been carried out at the hospital to facilitate the installation of a new CT scanner which will be operational next month. Two new modular theatres are also due to open next month. Investment in Louth County Hospital will continue in order to provide the best and most appropriate service to the people of the area.

Since October 2005, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital and Louth County Hospital have been managed under a single general management structure. These close working arrangements have facilitated a reduction in patient waiting times and have resulted in improved care and clinical outcomes for patients. In advance of the development of the new regional hospital, ambulance and emergency services will be developed to a high standard in the north east. This will include the training of advanced paramedics and nurse practitioners.

It should be emphasised that the HSE has given the Minister for Health and Children an assurance that in progressing the reorganisation of services in the north east, there will be no discontinuation of existing services until suitable alternative arrangements have been put in place.

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