Jimmy Devins (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Deputies for raising this issue. I will be taking the Adjournment debate on behalf of my colleague, Deputy Harney, the Minister for Health and Children. The Minister has identified the enhancement of services to persons with cystic fibrosis as a key priority. Indeed, the Minister, along with the Taoiseach, met with the Cystic Fibrosis Association of Ireland earlier this month to review the progress that has been made in improving services for persons with cystic fibrosis over the past two years and to discuss the need in particular to improve the infrastructure within which these services are provided.

Additional revenue funding of nearly €7 million was provided over the past two years to develop services for persons with cystic fibrosis. This funding was provided to facilitate the recruitment of additional consultant, nursing and allied health professional staff and to improve services nationally. The HSE has advised me that each of its networks was given notification of the specific funding available for their areas and the specific posts associated with the funding. The HSE has informed the Department that 39 additional posts are now in place.

The HSE was also asked to address, in particular, the identified infrastructural and service deficits at the national adult referral centre at St. Vincent's Hospital in Dublin. In this context, additional revenue funding of €300,000 was provided to the hospital in 2005 and an additional €1 million was provided in 2006 to facilitate the recruitment of additional medical, nursing and allied health professional staff.

The new ambulatory day care centre, which is part of a €203 million investment at the hospital, includes specialist clinic facilities for cystic fibrosis patients. In addition, the new emergency department allows for increased isolation capacity at the hospital. This is frequently utilised by persons with cystic fibrosis.

Interim refurbishment of facilities for cystic fibrosis patients has recently been completed at the hospital and comprises the re-designation of 15 beds as respiratory-cystic fibrosis beds, bringing the total number of respiratory-cystic fibrosis beds to 44.

A project team has been appointed to progress the next phase of development at St. Vincent's University Hospital. This team includes representatives of both the hospital and the HSE. It is intended that this development will include the provision of dedicated facilities for patients with cystic fibrosis. These facilities will provide, in particular, private single room accommodation with en-suite bathrooms for inpatients, together with appropriate isolation facilities for patients who require it. In addition, the project team is giving consideration to such issues as the need for separate access routes to the unit.

In addition to the infrastructural developments to be carried out at St. Vincent's University Hospital, the HSE is also considering the need for additional infrastructural improvements at Cork and Galway university hospitals.

In respect of cystic fibrosis services for children, a new outpatient clinic called the Medical Tower opened at Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin, in 2005. This has considerably improved the facilities available to treat the large number of children with cystic fibrosis attending the hospital.

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