Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Ó Fearghaíl for raising this issue and for giving me the opportunity to address the matter in the House.

The national kidney and pancreas transplant programme is currently provided at Beaumont Hospital. In 2014 Beaumont carried out 192 kidney transplants, including 152 from deceased donors and 40 from living donors, as well as six pancreas transplants. The transplant programme at Beaumont Hospital is provided through the surgical specialty of urology. As an aside, this is the first time I have ever heard Beaumont described as a regional hospital. It is recognised as the national centre for neurosurgery and kidney disease as well as many other things. I am surprised to hear someone who worked in Beaumont for so long downgrading the hospital to a regional hospital. It is not; it is a national centre in several specialties. When fully staffed, the urology department in Beaumont has 11 full-time posts. In whole-time equivalent terms, 8.5 of the consultant urologist transplant posts are based in Beaumont, with the remaining 2.5 whole-time equivalent urologist posts based at Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown. At the end of 2014, two consultant transplant surgeons left the renal and pancreas transplant programme at Beaumont, one on retirement and the second on leave of absence for professional development purposes. Currently, there are three transplant vacancies, which equates to 1.5 in whole-time equivalent posts among the 11 posts - that is, three consultants who would work half time on transplants and half time on urology.

Giving the limited number of surgeons who specialise in transplantation, the filling of vacancies poses a challenge at any time. While Beaumont Hospital is making every effort to recruit suitable people to fill these vacancies, the hospital is also collaborating with St. Vincent's University Hospital on a combined approach to kidney and pancreas transplants. It is now proposed that pancreas transplants, of which six were performed in 2014, will commence in St. Vincent's later this year. While the transfer of this work has been agreed in principle, it will take some time to make the detailed arrangements to facilitate the commencement of pancreas transplants.

Management and clinical staff at the hospital are committed to ensuring that an optimal service is put in place which will benefit all those in need pancreas transplants. Given that St. Vincent's is already established as the national liver transplant centre and the designated centre for pancreas cancer services, this initiative makes sense and will enable two transplant centres to share resources and support and promote improvements in overall transplant services.

There are nine people on the waiting list for pancreas transplants, eight of whom require simultaneous pancreas and kidney transplants. Pancreas transplantation as a stand-alone procedure is relatively uncommon. The arrangements being put in place for simultaneous kidney and pancreas transplants will involve transplant surgeons from St. Vincent's University Hospital and Beaumont working together on the St. Vincent's campus. In addition to working with St. Vincent's on a combined approach to kidney and pancreas transplants, Beaumont is also co-operating on the development of intra-abdominal organ retrieval service that will facilitate a more effective and cohesive overall procurement and transplant service.

I am confident that the measures being put in place will enhance our organ transplant service in future. Six new organ donation nurse managers will be appointed shortly, one to each of the six new hospital groups. This will facilitate the development of the transplant programme over the coming years. Officials from the HSE and my Department are working with senior management and the transparent surgeons at Beaumont and St. Vincent's on the development of transplant services. All parties are committed to ensuring that the transplant programme will be developed to the further benefit of patients.

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