Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Fleming for this question. I am committed to securing and further developing the role of the Midland Regional Hospital in Portlaoise as a constituent hospital within the Dublin midlands hospital group. Patient safety and outcomes must come first. As Deputy Fleming knows, a number of reports on the hospital in Portlaoise have been published in recent years. These reports pointed to the need for 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, on implementing the changes needed to address clinical service deficiencies and on incorporating the hospital into the governance structures of the Dublin midlands hospital group. Governance and management arrangements in Portlaoise have been strengthened, additional clinical staff have been appointed and staff training, hospital culture and communications have improved.

The Dublin midlands hospital group recently produced a draft plan for clinical service delivery at the Midland Regional Hospital in Portlaoise. I want to stress that the draft plan, which has been discussed with officials in the Department of Health, is currently the subject of further work and consideration by the HSE. Any change to services at the hospital, including any plans for service reconfiguration, will be undertaken in a planned and orderly manner and will take account of current use of services, demands in other hospitals and the need to develop particular services at Portlaoise in the context of overall service reconfiguration in the Dublin midlands hospital group. It is important to note that this work is being done to strengthen services in Portlaoise from a patient safety and quality perspective and to ensure the services currently provided by the hospital that are not viable are discontinued and the services that are viable are safe, adequately resourced and developed on the basis of health needs. I am confident that any changes will improve services for patients at the Midland Regional Hospital in Portlaoise. I have to emphasise at this stage that no decisions have been made. There is quite a body of work to be done in this regard.

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