John Moloney (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I take account of the concerns the Deputies are reflecting on behalf of the families, and I want to respond as honestly as I can. I must come back to the point, however, that the hospital is committed to working within its service plan and I believe it will do so.

Either way, the HSE is working closely with Our Lady's Children's Hospital to achieve an agreed programme of savings, totalling €6.5 million this year. The main focus of these savings will be on non-pay areas of expenditure and on protecting front line services to the maximum possible extent.

The way to provide the best possible tertiary care most cost effectively involves the creation of one single national paediatric hospital, alongside a major teaching hospital, bringing together all the medical and nursing expertise for complex conditions. The concept of bringing together all three present services is widely accepted. It is therefore entirely appropriate that we should now move towards that model of care in terms of closer integration and co-operation in the medical areas and in the most cost effective use of resources.

In 2009 the Government will provide over €250 million for the running of three paediatric hospitals in Dublin. We can achieve significant cost savings if services and practices are more closely integrated across the three hospital sites, even before the new national paediatric hospital has been completed. With this in mind, the HSE is pursuing ways in which services across the three hospitals can best be co-ordinated, to avoid unnecessary duplication and to achieve savings that can be put back into patient care. For example, the three children's hospitals in Dublin have agreed and developed a model for the development of a joint department of paediatric surgery. The clinical network across the three hospitals will make the best use of the resources that are available and will ensure a single system of care. The early retirement of an orthopaedic consultant in Cork has increased pressures on the scoliosis waiting list at Crumlin. The National Treatment Purchase Fund has identified a number of cases from the waiting list for treatment at Cappagh Hospital. Further cases are being reviewed.

In addition, discussions are ongoing with the three paediatric hospitals with regard to the provision of orthopaedic services generally and in particular the treatment of children suffering from scoliosis. The hospital has reiterated that no child has been denied access to emergency life saving surgery due to its break-even programme.

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