Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will ask the Department to revert to the Deputy with a more detailed timeline both with regard to when in quarter 2, the sites it is going to go to and the recommendations it is starting with. It is important to say that while there is a challenge that has been identified and that challenge is going to be responded to, there are a lot of positive things happening across the health service that will address some of the concerns that the consultants and the NCHDs have in the model 3 hospitals. First and foremost is that the growth in the medical workforce has been highly significant. For example, since 2020, the NCHD workforce has grown by nearly 2,000 doctors. That is a very significant increase that addresses some of the pressures being identified in the model 3 hospitals. Just as importantly, our consultant workforce has now grown since 2020 by 1,000 consultants. It has gone up from about 3,200 to about 4,200. What that has meant is a significant increase in consultants not just in the model 4 hospitals but in the model 3 hospitals, which will help address some of the concerns raised in the report.

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