John Moloney (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I make the point that reorganisation will occur in consultation with all the stakeholders, which would include the GPs. The Minister believes that it is important to work with health professionals and other interested parties to secure an increasing set of improvements over time. She is confident this approach will produce the best outcome for patients.

It is also important to note that the HSE has commissioned a number of reviews on how acute hospital services should be organised, including the Teamwork-Horwath report on the mid-west region, which the executive has recently published.

The Teamwork-Horwath report on the mid-west highlights the need for changes to be made in the provision and organisation of acute hospital services across the region, particularly in regard to accident and emergency services, critical care, acute surgery and medicine. It is also worth noting that the report found that the services are too fragmented, carry increased risks for patients and staff and are not sustainable in their current form.

The HSE has also indicated that certain changes to the current arrangements for the provision of some acute services, including accident and emergency services, must be made, in the interests of patient safety and also to make best use of the clinical resources available within the mid-west region. The HSE has been engaged in a consultation process with key stakeholders as it formulates detailed plans in regard to emergency care, critical care and surgical services in the region.

The HSE plans will involve the reconfiguration of acute hospital services into a network and their better integration with primary care services across the region, with a regional centre at Limerick Regional Hospital that will deal with complex and specialist cases. The plans will also provide for the development of significant and effective local hospital and community services. These will include important roles for Nenagh General Hospital and Ennis General Hospital which, for example, will involve the expansion of day surgery and diagnostic activity.

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