Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising these two important matters, which are both linked to the provision of non-Covid-19 healthcare. He has hit the nail on the head on a very important issue. In this country as in many others we have all been preparing for the pandemic to take a certain course of action: to come, to reach a very high peak with huge human consequences in terms of deaths and very serious illness and then hopefully to begin a downward trajectory. Thanks to the efforts of the Irish people we have not seen that awful surge. However, we now know it is highly likely that this virus will stay with us for a protracted period. That means we really need to ask and act on the questions the Deputy is asking about how to provide for non-Covid-19 care alongside Covid-19 care. I do not want to use up the time of the Deputy and his colleagues, but several examples of that have started. Community assessment hubs have been set up to try to keep Covid-19 care there and non-Covid-19 care in regular GP practices. Many of our physiotherapists, speech and language therapists and occupational therapists have already volunteered to be redeployed to help out with other areas of the health service, both in the constituency the Deputy and I share and nationally. People are helping with contact tracing or in community assessment hubs and testing centres. We are now going to have to make a call on the appropriate allocation to each of them to make sure their services can continue to operate. The HSE will finalise plans in that regard. One specific discussion at our medical leaders' forum last week, which was chaired by the Chief Medical Officer and the chief clinical officer of the HSE, concerned what a non-Covid-19 care work stream will look like.

While I cannot comment on a specific case, as the Deputy will be aware, I absolutely want to see private hospitals fully utilised for the benefit of public patients. The taxpayer is now paying for the use of these facilities. There are 19 of them around the country. We have diagnostic equipment in them. I made clear in my opening statement that we will need to keep some capacity free because a surge or a second wave could come, but we can do more than we are doing now. We have seen a quite significant increase in the number of cases being treated. We will need to see it increase further. I will look at Callum's case and others like it.

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