Paddy McHugh (Galway East, Independent)
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Question 5: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children her views on the development of the Tuam health campus; her further views on whether the project should proceed incorporating all the elements proposed in the Health Service Executive planning brief forwarded to her Department in 2002; and if she will report on her discussions and communications with the Health Service Executive on this project. [21354/06]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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I am aware of the development proposals of the former Western Health Board for new and refurbished health facilities on the site of the former Grove Hospital in Tuam. This project has become known as the Tuam health campus. This site was acquired from the Bon Secours Order some years back and while a development control plan was prepared, this has not yet been advanced due to more urgent capital investment priorities.

In November 2005, I visited the east Galway area and, in a meeting with local management, was appraised of the HSE's development plans for the Tuam area, including a community hospital, an ambulance base, a primary care centre, mental health services and administrative facilities. I urged that these plans be advanced in accordance with its service plan and capital programme. My staff have maintained ongoing informal contact with the HSE since then.

The capital plan of the executive for 2006 has been agreed by me and provision has been made for the phased development of the Tuam health campus. I am advised the HSE has commenced the process of recruiting a project manager for the development. The immediate task of the project manager will be to review the current pattern of service provision in the area in respect of all existing and planned services. This will update the planning brief previously prepared for the site in 2002.

In addition to maximising the integration of all health and social services on the site, the HSE will explore possibilities for inter-agency and inter-sectoral co-operation for the benefit of the town and the people of Tuam.

The HSE believes that a significant opportunity now exists to develop a model integrated primary and continuing care facility on the Grove Hospital site and I fully support this perspective. The funding required to complete such a facility will be significant and it is a matter for the HSE to determine the priorities for investment in line with the resources available to it over the coming years.

Paddy McHugh (Galway East, Independent)
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I thank the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney, for her reply. I thank her for accepting the case put forward for Tuam Hospital, sanctioning phase one and making that initial allocation available.

She mentioned in her reply that a project manager was appointed. Is that person from inside or outside the HSE, and what is that person's function?

There are three basic elements in the Tuam health campus: a community hospital, a primary care unit and an ambulance base. There is an urgent need for the immediate provision of an ambulance base. I note €1.8 million is set aside for ambulance services. Can we take it this will be expended on providing an ambulance base in Tuam immediately and that this can proceed while consideration of the community hospital is ongoing? Can we also take it that X-ray facilities will be provided in the town to serve that region of north-east Galway, south Mayo and west Roscommon, and that we need not wait for those services while the community hospital plans are being developed?

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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I assume the project manager is someone from within the HSE. That would be normal.

Deputy McHugh asked about the function of the project manager. As he will be aware because he is familiar with this, it is an eight acre site and the original plan in 2002 was to use all of the site. We believe it will not be necessary to use all the site and I hope some of the site can be disposed of to leverage the funding to complete the investment, but that matter would have to be decided by the HSE. Perhaps a public private partnership may be in order, for example, in the case of the primary care facility, where local general practitioners may be interested in being involved in the project.

I do not have the answer to the Deputy's supplementary question on whether the ambulance service, on which I will communicate with him, can proceed in advance of the project. I share his view of the importance of the need for an ambulance base in east Galway and hope the base can be progressed.

I want to confirm that when the Bon Secours Order sold the site there was a view it all had to be held for health purposes. That is not the case and the HSE has confirmed that. I am aware that has caused some confusion in the area. It may well be that a portion of the site will be disposed of and the resources leveraged from that disposal would be used to fund the project involving the community hospital, the ambulance base and the shared services facility which I mentioned earlier.

Paddy McHugh (Galway East, Independent)
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The Minister stated that the primary care unit may be provided through a public private partnership. I understand she stated previously that the community hospital may be provided under a public private partnership arrangement also. If that was the case, could we expect that expressions of interest or the process concerned would take place fairly soon?

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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Yes. Clearly, whatever services are provided there will be for all patients. There will be no question of it being restricted to private patients. However, it may well be that local general practitioners, in conjunction with the HSE or others, may decide to provide a primary care facility there. There may be an interest in using the current tax breaks to provide the capital costs of the community hospital and the State would then obviously resource and operate it, or certainly buy services. We need to be innovative in the way we develop the facility. I hope it can happen quickly and that is the intention.