Dáil debates

Tuesday, 29 March 2011

10:00 pm

Photo of Kathleen LynchKathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)

The Deputy will be glad to know that this is the shortest reply of the night; nonetheless it is important. I am taking this Adjournment matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy James Reilly. I thank the Deputy for raising it.

In recent years the HSE has been working to reorganise services in the Louth-Meath hospital group. Louth County Hospital has continued to play an important and expanding role in the provision of health services in the north-east region, with a particular focus on diagnostic and day services. A minor injuries unit and additional ambulance services were put in place to support the plan. Stroke rehabilitation, day surgical, day medical, step-down, gynaecology and radiology services remain in Louth County Hospital. In addition, the care of the elderly service has transferred to the hospital from Drogheda. General and orthopaedic rehabilitation services are being developed in Dundalk. A dedicated venesection service has been established and a new colposcopy unit opened at the hospital.

Louth County Hospital has also been selected by the National Cancer Screening Service as one of the 15 candidate screening colonoscopy units to provide the colonoscopy requirements for the colorectal cancer screening programme. It is important to stress that patient safety has been central to all decisions taken regarding the operation of health services in the region as well as nationally.

The Minister is committed to ensuring acute hospital services at national, regional and local level are provided in a clinically appropriate and efficient manner. In particular, he wants to ensure that as many services as possible can be provided safely in smaller local hospitals. In order to fully consider the issues involved, he is being briefed by the Department and the Health Service Executive on the organisation of acute services in each region and the important clinical programmes being developed by the executive. These interrelated programmes aim to improve service quality, effectiveness and patient access and ensure patient care is provided in the service setting most appropriate to individual needs.

I will pass on the Deputy's request for a meeting to the Minister. This is a new Government which will look at matters differently.

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