Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter and particularly for getting his point across, despite the difficulties with his voice. First, I reassure him that I am committed to securing and further developing the role of Portlaoise hospital as a constituent hospital of the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group. The most important consideration in any proposed change to services at the hospital is that patient safety and the outcome for patients must come first. As the Deputy knows, there have been a number of reports on the hospital in recent years. These reports have pointed to the need for the reconfiguration of some services to ensure patients are treated in the most appropriate setting by specialist staff who can safely meet their needs.

Since 2014 the focus has been on supporting the hospital to develop and enhance management capability, implementing changes required to address clinical service deficiencies and incorporating the hospital into the existing governance structures within the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group. Governance and management arrangements in Portlaoise hospital services have been strengthened, clinical staffing numbers increased and staff training, hospital culture and hospital communications improved. Service improvements include a number of additional consultant posts within the hospital, including in anaesthetics, surgery, emergency medicine, paediatrics and obstetrics, as well as additional physician and midwifery posts. Furthermore, investment in patient quality and safety, complaints management and patient engagement has also occurred in the past two years.

The Dublin Midlands Hospital Group has recently produced a draft plan for clinical service delivery at Portlaoise hospital. The draft plan has been discussed with my Department and is the subject of further work and consideration within the HSE. I stress that it is a draft plan with much further work to be done from the HSE's perspective. Any potential change to services at Portlaoise hospital, including plans for service reconfiguration, will be undertaken in a planned and orderly manner and take account of current use of services, as the Deputy asks; demands in other hospitals - another point he made - and the need to develop particular services in Portlaoise in the context of the overall service provided by the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group. The important point to note is that this work is being done to strengthen services in Portlaoise from a patient safety and quality perspective and ensure the services currently provided in the hospital are safe, adequately resourced and developed based on health needs. I will keep the Deputy and other Oireachtas Members in the Laois constituency informed on this matter.

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