James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Chief Medical Officer's office of my Department has been working on a report entitled Health Care Quality Indicators in the Irish Health System: Examining the Potential of Hospital Discharge Data. The focus of the report is the quality of the data not the care provided. One of the indicators examined in the report is derived from the hospital inpatient inquiry, or HIPE, data 2008-10 which recorded 30-day, in-hospital mortality rates following heart attack - that is acute myocardial infarction. This is the basis for the Deputy's question. It is important, therefore, that I restate what I said on 5 July 2011 which was: "Some of the statistics in the report, while rough, are so startling that they cannot be ignored." I further stated on 21 of July 2011:

I stand over these figures as does my Department and they will stand up to scrutiny because they were supplied through the HIPE data mix by the hospitals.

The analysis and rates I quoted on both dates were an accurate reflection of the data reported by the individual hospitals, including Roscommon Hospital, to the HIPE system. The information I recorded in the Dáil at that time is therefore correct. Following a period of consultation and further analysis, the aforementioned report on health care quality indicators in the Irish health system is being finalised with a view to publication in the near future.

I take this opportunity to draw attention to a number of changes to the structures and services being delivered in Roscommon. Roscommon Hospital falls under the newly established governance structure of the Galway and Roscommon University Hospital group. As a model 2 hospital, Roscommon provides the majority of hospital activities including extended day surgery, selected acute medicine, local injuries, a large range of diagnostic services and palliative care. Future growth is planned in the areas of ambulatory care, including chronic disease management and day surgery, diagnostics and rehabilitation.

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