Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

I am taking this Adjournment matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Mary Harney.

The Government is committed to ensuring the delivery and maintenance of the best quality health service possible and providing the highest standard of patient care in an effective and efficient way within the resources allocated. Portiuncula Hospital plays an important part in the HSE West network of acute hospitals and there are no plans to lessen its importance in the provision of services. It is an acute general and maternity hospital which provides a range of acute, diagnostic and support services to both adults and children in the catchment areas of east Galway, Roscommon, north Tipperary, Offaly and Westmeath. The hospital has a total of 197 beds - specifically, 173 inpatient and 24 day care beds.

Portiuncula Hospital benefits from a committed workforce that, throughout 2010 and in line with the hospital's service plan, is projected to provide services for over 10,000 inpatients, more than 7,000 day cases, 20,000 emergency presentations, 42,000 outpatient attendances and more than 2,000 births. The hospital also has strong partnerships with colleagues in the primary, community and continuing care sectors in order to provide patients with a fully integrated service.

The Government has shown its commitment to Portiuncula Hospital in recent years, with capital developments such as the new special care baby unit, the recent upgrading of the emergency department and the overhauling of the oncology day unit and the physiotherapy department in 2007. This demonstrates that the Government continues to see a very important role for the hospital as part of a high quality health service to the population of the region.

Work has also been undertaken in recent years to enhance collaboration between Portiuncula Hospital and Roscommon County Hospital in the provision of services. This is occurring, for example, in the re-configuration that is taking place of the surgical and anaesthetic departments of the two hospitals into a joint department of surgery and anaesthesia.

The HSE plans to recruit a general manager with responsibility for Galway University Hospital, Portiuncula Hospital and Roscommon County Hospital. This initiative involves the expansion of the current post of general manager at Galway University Hospital. It is designed to promote good co-ordination between hospitals. It is not about downgrading any hospital or reducing services. It is about improving management processes and thereby improving services for patients.

The appointment of a general manager with responsibility for the three hospitals concerned is also in line with the approach of the governance of acute hospitals recommended in the Health Information and Quality Authority's report on quality and safety of services at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Ennis, which was published in April 2009. This report identified integrated governance across hospital networks as an important factor in ensuring higher quality services for patients.

The HSE is committed to full engagement with all stakeholders in regard to this matter. The final interviews for the general manager post will not be held until the competition to appoint a regional director of operations in HSE West is concluded. This means that the regional director can take an active part in the selection process. I understand this process is due to be concluded shortly.

The HSE has already met the unions involved to discuss the context of the appointment of the general manager. It is due to have a further meeting with the unions in the near future.

The Minister is satisfied that the plan to recruit a general manager with responsibility for Galway University hospitals, Portiuncula Hospital and Roscommon County Hospital will enhance the capacity for collaboration in service provision, provide a more strategic approach to the management of the hospitals concerned and ensure the provision of better and safer services to the people of the region.

I wish to assure the House on the Minister's behalf that Portiuncula Hospital will continue to play a key role in the provision of hospital services to the population of east Galway and the other areas it serves.

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