Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for the opportunity to address the House on this issue. I send apologies on behalf of the Minister for Health who was unable to take this matter. I offer this response in his place on what I know is a very important issue for the people of Clare and the mid-west region.

Haemodialysis is a life-sustaining treatment. However, for dialysis patients and their loved ones, travelling to treatment several times a week for hours on end is hugely demanding. I reassure the Deputy and all patients in the mid-west that the Government remains fully committed to improving services in the region. The Minister for Health has engaged extensively with the UL Hospitals Group and the HSE in recent months. He announced a series of measures to increase capacity and improve services across the region, including in Ennis. This includes 48 additional acute inpatient beds to be opened in Ennis hospital in the next four years. This will almost double the capacity of the hospital. The acute hospital inpatient bed capacity expansion plan details 382 additional beds to be delivered in this region by 2031.

As the Deputy highlighted, the UL Hospitals Group is seeking to establish a haemodialysis service in Ennis. It is envisaged that this unit will be similar to the satellite centre already in place in the Fresenius Medical Care centre in Limerick. The development of a unit in Ennis would enable more patients in the area to receive treatment closer to home. This development would also ease pressure on the renal department at University Hospital Limerick and on the existing satellite unit in the Fresenius Medical Care centre.

The Deputy can be reassured that the Minister understands the importance of expanding haemodialysis options in the mid-west. I am advised that procurement for this satellite unit is progressing in line with national financial regulations. The HSE has advised that following a tender process carried out this year, significantly higher projected costs than were originally expected to deliver the unit were identified. Additional funding, beyond what was originally projected, is required to support this service. The HSE has advised that the service is still anticipated to commence in 2025, as advised earlier this year. In the interim, additional dialysis slots have been added to the service at UHL to ensure all patients can receive the treatment they need. I appreciate that additional travel and later appointments can cause significant inconvenience to the lives of dialysis patients. The HSE has advised that, where it is possible, the distance patients must travel is taken into consideration when allocating these slots. I assure the Deputy that the Minister welcomes the additional capacity that this expansion of services will bring to the mid-west. He continues to work towards that end.

See this speech in context