Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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I raise this issue for obvious local reasons relating to the general hospital, which is pivotally located in an area of rapidly expanding population and is greatly instrumental in assisting the delivery of the health services in this catchment area. The population is growing at a rapid rate and any five-year population predictions are now accelerated. This enhances the importance and pivotal nature of the hospital and its services.

In recent times there have been some changes. There are a number of clinics - a warfarin clinic, a stroke clinic and antenatal care clinics - which have been very important to the area and of great convenience to the local population. This is somewhat preceded by the Minister's strong support for the hospital at yesterday's meeting of the Joint Committee on Health at which I raised a similar issue. I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House again this evening to respond to this debate.

We had a long battle over the years to ensure that Naas, being where it is in this pivotal location, could strive at all times to achieve the highest possible standards in care, the extent of the care and the extent of the level and quality of service that it can and does provide. It has excellent and reliable staff at all levels. Of course, from time to time, as with all hospitals, there are queries about how we could make improvements. With that in mind I bring it to the attention of the Minister of State that this is a pivotal part of the delivery of health services in the region and will remain so. Any intervention that has the effect of changing the extent, the scale and the quality of services is to be challenged and will be challenged.

In order to ensure that we have the highest possible standards applicable and the highest level of service continually available in the hospital, it is imperative that the voice of the people be heard regarding those services. It is there for the convenience of the people and has been working very satisfactorily for the people. In order to continue that service in this area which has been traditionally associated with huge dependency in so far as the locals over a wide catchment area are concerned, I ask the Minister of State to reiterate what his senior colleague, the Minister for Health, said at yesterday's meeting of the Joint Committee on Health at which he clearly and robustly indicated that the intention was to continue with the expansion of the hospital in line with expectations and in order to ensure the continuation of service.

Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
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I thank Deputy Durkan for raising the issue of services at Naas General Hospital and to also acknowledge the Deputy’s work in advocating for the people of Kildare and west Wicklow.

Naas General Hospital is an acute public hospital with 189 inpatient beds and 18 day-care beds, serving a catchment area with a population of over 250,000 people. The services in the hospital are designed to meet the needs of the adult population, that is people over 16 years of age, within this catchment area. Naas is a model 3 hospital which means that it provides 24-7 services through the emergency department, with an acute medical assessment unit and access to critical care beds.

Naas General Hospital provides the core specialty services of general medicine, general surgery and emergency medicine, catering for patient activity through the emergency department, as well as the inpatient department, outpatient department and day-services department. Additional multidisciplinary specialty services provided by Naas include radiology, respiratory medicine, and urology services.

The Government is committed to ensuring equitable access to healthcare services and to making real and sustainable improvements to realise the vision the Government has for healthcare in Ireland. To that end, there has been significant additional investment in staffing and facilities in Naas hospital in recent years. The 2023 budget allocation for Naas is €84.6 million, up from €82 million last year, and from €63.9 million in 2018.

At the end of February, there were 945 whole-time-equivalent staff employed by Naas General Hospital, an increase of 186 from the end of 2019. This includes an increase of 74 nursing and midwifery whole-time-equivalent positions. There are now a total of 189 inpatient beds in the hospital.

I am happy to be able to confirm to the Deputy that a number of capital projects are currently under way in Naas General Hospital. In quarter 3 of this year, Naas General Hospital expects to open its new 12-bed isolation ward. The reconfiguration and refurbishment of the existing acute medical assessment unit is at appraisal stage and will be initiated through design and planning stages in 2023.

In addition to these projects, the plan to improve mental health facilities in Naas hospital is progressing.

The Lakeview unit is a 29-bed acute psychiatric hospital registered with the Mental Health Commission as an approved centre. An investment in a new build on the Naas hospital site to accommodate 50 single patient rooms with added social and living space will address the immediate needs of the population and will increase capacity and improve clinical care and patient experience. This project is currently progressing through the public procurement code.

The endoscopy-oncology project, as the Deputy has pointed out previously, has faced delays in recent years, but provision of a second endoscopy room is acknowledged as a priority for the hospital and the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group. It is now proposed to engage a design team to update the design to correspond with current technology and standards and to progress through the pre-tender design and planning stages of work in 2023.

The investment of recent years is fundamental to supporting the ongoing development of services and to ensuring that Naas General Hospital will continue to play an invaluable role in the delivery of health services to the local community in the years ahead.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for his very detailed reply. I agree with the closing point he made in his statement, which is that the hospital will continue to play an important role but also an enhanced one, because the area is growing in population and in order to accommodate the growing population we have to be able to respond quickly to the demands of the hospital and its staff. That can best be achieved not by the length of time available in a debate of this nature but by the Department of Health and the Minister's office making direct contact with those who know best what is required, given the time and commitment that they have already given to the hospital project.

As I mentioned yesterday at the health committee meeting, projections of more than five years old are well out of date in terms of the needs for the future. I would welcome in particular continued commitment to the services provided such as stroke services etc. that are normally available. As we approach local elections, people query these things and look for reassurance. It is our job, challenge and duty to try to meet those insofar as we can, but in particular to be able to reassure the hospital, the staff and those involved with building its reputation over the years that it is intended to continue in this direction without interruption.

Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
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I again thank the Deputy for raising this matter regarding the services at Naas General Hospital. I fully accept the importance of growing healthcare services for the people of Kildare and west Wicklow. The commitment of the Government to the future of this hospital is clear. Funding for Naas hospital as part of the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group has continued to increase year on year. As I have already outlined, a new 12-bed isolation ward is due to open in Naas General Hospital this year and commissioning and equipping is under way. This will be a significant addition to the hospital. In addition, as mentioned, several capital projects are ongoing, including the refurbishment of the acute medical assessment unit, and the progression of the acute mental health unit and the endoscopy-oncology project.

This Government is committed to making real and sustainable improvements in our health services and to ensuring that these align with the Government's overall vision for healthcare in Ireland, as set out in the programme for Government. This is for universal healthcare within a public health service that provides the people with access to high-quality, affordable care when and where they need it.