Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. I will be able to provide colleagues with a list of the current workforce and consultants across CHI. As colleagues will be aware, we have paediatric orthopaedic consultants who work across numerous sites, including Temple Street, Crumlin and Cappagh hospitals. There is also some activity for which Blackrock Clinic is used. There are various surgeons involved there. While I fully appreciate there are broader questions around paediatric orthopaedics, what initiated the issue at hand was spina bifida procedures in Temple Street hospital. The reality is that there are only two surgeons who do complex spina bifida work in Temple Street hospital, one of whom is not engaged currently in clinical activity. I, the Department and the HSE are all engaged with CHI on this issue. It is being examined at the most senior level and at a variety of levels. Can we hire into these posts? Can we expand posts? Are there people who might come in temporarily? Can we bring in surgeons from abroad to do individual sessions or who might agree to stay here and work with the children over a period of time? Can we reactivate the programme where the care is provided abroad? I think we should where the patients and their families agree to it. That might be appropriate for less complex work where less follow-up is required. There is no getting away from the fact that when it comes to complex spina bifida care, there are two surgeons involved. Extensive work is now ongoing to find additional surgeons who can do the work.

The Deputy also asked about the progress being made. Next week and in the coming weeks, significant additional capacity will come online. I allocated €19 million last year in current and capital expenditure. I asked CHI to come up with a comprehensive plan, which it did. That €19 million was a big ask and the plan was fully funded. Since then, the workforce has increased, additional beds have been made available and post-operative supports have been put in place. Because of that, there has been a substantial increase in the number of surgeries performed, notwithstanding the fact that waiting lists have not come down, as we talked about earlier. A substantial amount of additional surgery has been performed. In addition, a fifth theatre is opening in Temple Street hospital this day next week. It is staffed and ready to go. There are many sessions reserved specifically for spinal treatment and orthopaedics. A second MRI is being staffed in Crumlin hospital and we believe it will be operational in November. Some 24 additional beds were funded under the plan, including nine acute medical beds and two orthopaedic elective surgery beds. Those beds opened in Crumlin hospital in August. Two more beds are due to open next month. Seven short-stay beds are to be fully operational in Temple Street hospital in October, along with four orthopaedic elective surgery beds that will be fully operational from November.

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