Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for facilitating this debate. It is very encouraging to see that the winter plan has strongly accounted for building capacity and service continuity and ensuring pathways of care during the pandemic era. It is welcome that more than €600 million will be spent as part of the plan, under which the largest spend will be on home support and Home First, totalling in excess of €130 million.

Many of us expressed our support for the healthcare workers on the front line, be it those working in our hospitals, GP services, pharmacies and those providing care at home. However, I must acknowledge the work done by HSE management during the pandemic. They had to respond to a national and international challenge beyond any I can think of in living memory. They have undertaken a public health campaign on a magnitude not witnessed by many. It is inspiring to see such public service values come to the fore during a time when strong leadership and public confidence was most required. While our healthcare system has some long-standing weaknesses and legacy issues, it is important to recognise the strong leadership and to be thankful for such in times of crisis.

I am hopeful this pandemic will also present an opportunity to address some of the long-term capacity challenges in our health service, in particular emergency department overcrowding. I note that the winter plan highlights that in a Covid-19 environment there is a need for zero tolerance of overcrowding in all care environments.

Ensuring the delivery of the long-awaited temporary modular unit planned for Mayo University Hospital is a vital concern for me. While it is due on site by early November, I believe it is important to keep the issue highlighted until it is operational as we enter the winter months. I was recently advised by the HSE that a feasibility study is taking place within the Saolta health care group regarding the development of a 50-bed ward block at Mayo University Hospital. Any further update on that would be most welcome.

In recent months, various other improvement works have been progressing at the hospital, including electrical upgrade works with the provision of a new energy centre along with the installation of additional generator capacity. Other improvements include the reconfiguration and upgrade to the hospital sterile service department as well as the replacement of existing autoclave equipment and building reconfiguration work to achieve compliance with the latest decontamination standards. Such investments are most welcome during the Covid-19 era.

An area of concern which I note is mentioned in the winter plan is general practice support. I am especially conscious of single-handed practices, two-doctor practices and practices with older GPs. Some of those practices are covering huge areas of incredible rural geography, for instance, Belmullet, the Erris region or Achill. I would appreciate it if the Minister could provide further detail on the temporary crisis support to ensure the continued provision of local GP services.

See this speech in context