Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am very conscious of sticking to the script on this one or the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, would have words with me but I agree with what the Deputy said on capital. Capital investment is once-off investment and is the solid foundation required for the teams to work out. I could be so bold as to say I hear what the Deputy is saying on the outreach model and satellite piece that needs to be put in place, but I will stick to the script.

We have a growing and ageing population and through ambitious reforms, such as the ECC programme, we are responding to the changing needs of those who use our services by changing how and where we deliver healthcare. The programme is already delivering increased levels of healthcare in the primary care and community setting, with the CSTs delivering consultant-led integrated specialist services in locations closer to home for those who most need it, namely, older persons and those with chronic disease.

As previously highlighted, an important element of this programme is the provision of 30 CSTs for chronic disease nationwide, with 24 of the 30 already operational and providing the community with access to specialist services close to home for people living with respiratory, cardiac and endocrine chronic disease. We have already achieved significant recruitment to these multidisciplinary teams, including consultants, clinical nurse specialists, advanced nurse practitioners, physiotherapists and dieticians.

With recruitment ongoing, full implementation of the programme will be achieved by the end of this year and, when fully embedded, we will have fully developed integrated care pathways between acute and community services, thereby improving access to, egress from and integration with acute hospital services, on one hand, and delivering more care closer to home, on the other.

Recruitment of the required consultants and health and social care professionals to the north Cork CDM hub is in progress, and the HSE aims to have the hub operational as soon as possible.

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