Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)

I thank the Deputy. As she said, the rationalisation of the hospitals is something that goes back some time. The purpose is to provide the best care that can be provided among the different model 4 and model 3 hospitals. I note that Cavan has had a good performance over the past number of weeks in terms of trolley numbers and the organisation of its staff. There have been a few little blips, but in general it has been extremely good. We are trying to expand capacity everywhere, but particularly through the use of community virtual wards and pathways that divert people from accident and emergency departments who do not need to be there. There is more work to do across the system, however.

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