Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Bogfaidh muid ar aghaidh go dtí ceist Uimh. 4 atá in ainm an Teachta Rory Hearne. Sula nglaoim ar an Teachta, cuirim fáilte roimh Erin, Caolán agus Aisling. Tá fáilte rompu. Is iad sin páistí an Teachta Hearne. Tá sé ag caint ar a son agus ar son an phobail ar fad.

Rory Hearne (Dublin North-West, Social Democrats)
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I thank the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach and say hello to my kids in the Public Gallery.

I want to talk about Beaumont hospital. It is a core provider of healthcare for the half a million people in its catchment area across north Dublin, which includes my constituency areas of Finglas, Ballymun, Whitehall, Santry and many others. Beaumont hospital is a key public service, a key provider of healthcare and provides many people with high-quality care. Unfortunately, the hospital, as with much of our healthcare service, is under severe pressure. The issues in Beaumont hospital have been raised in this Chamber by my colleague and constituency predecessor, Róisín Shortall, and others. Unfortunately, much remains to be done to support the hospital to be able to deliver the quality service that the public in my constituency and further afield needs.

Almost 5,000 staff are employed in Beaumont hospital. On this International Workers' Day, I thank the staff at the hospital for all the work they do in very difficult and challenging circumstances, particularly the nurses who provide amazing care to patients, but also the porters, cleaners and all the staff who keep a hospital going, and the doctors and administration staff who do incredible work against the odds.

Unfortunately, in 2024 HIQA undertook an inspection of Beaumont hospital and found that on the day of the inspection 28 patients were accommodated on trolleys and in armchairs. HIQA noted at the time that the arrangements were not fully effective at the time of inspection to manage the mismatch between service demand and hospital capacity. I want to highlight this today and ask the Minister to respond.

I also want to highlight the issue regarding waiting lists at the hospital. I will raise one example, the case of a constituent, Margaret, who contacted me recently. Margaret saw a consultant in Beaumont hospital after her GP found two lumps in her breast. This consultant then referred her to the BreastCheck unit in Beaumont hospital. She waited three months for an appointment, despite being advised that her case was urgent and the turnaround should only be two weeks. She did get an appointment but this was simply to check again the presence of the lumps. She was advised by letter that a follow-up appointment would be required if a biopsy was necessary. This was all against the backdrop of her waiting anxiously beyond the advised two-week timeline for urgent cases like this.

Is it acceptable that this is what patients are facing? I understand that Beaumont hospital is to receive capital investment but there needs to be a sense of urgency for everyone like Margaret who face unacceptable waiting times. These delays have life-altering consequences.

By the HSE's figures there are currently 3,412 patients on the wait list for inpatient procedures and a staggering 40,493 people on a waiting list for outpatient procedures at Beaumont hospital. I would appreciate the Minister of State's response to this.

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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I join the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach in welcoming the Deputy's kids, Aisling, Erin and Caolán, to the House. I thank the Deputy for raising the important matter of Beaumont hospital and in congratulating and thanking the staff of Beaumont hospital on International Workers' Day for the work they do. I do not have the answers to some of the questions raised. However, if the Deputy supplies the details, I will pass them onto the Department and get an answer for him.

I welcome the opportunity, on behalf of the Minister, to recognise that waiting times for many scheduled appointments and procedures are too long, not only in Beaumont hospital but in hospitals throughout the country, and that many patients are waiting an unacceptably long time for care. The Government is focused on having a public healthcare service in which everyone has timely access to high-quality, scheduled care where and when they need it. The Department of Health continues to work with the HSE and the National Treatment Purchase Fund, NTPF, to identify ways to improve access to care. On 12 February this year, the Minister for Health published the waiting list action plan for 2025, representing the Government’s commitment to reducing waiting times for patients and improving access to hospital care.

In keeping with this commitment, significant funding of €420 million was allocated to the waiting list action plan for 2025, with €190 million for the HSE and €230 million for the NTPF. With the 2025 plan, we will continue to build on the progress delivered to date under the multi-annual action plan approach. The most recent waiting list figures, published by the NTPF for March, show an increase in waiting list volumes in the year to date. The delivery of elective care in the early months of the year is always impacted by the winter surge in demand for unscheduled care and because of elevated levels of respiratory illness circulating. However, we are starting to see signs of stabilisation in April and expect to see the volume growth mitigated over the coming weeks. The national trends are reflected in the figures specific to Beaumont hospital. At 40,556, the number of patients waiting for an outpatient appointment has increased by 5% since December 2024. In the same period, the number of patients waiting for an inpatient or day-case procedure has increased by 10% to 9,455 and the number waiting for a GI scope has increased by 30% to 1,583.

However, as the Minister has consistently said, what is much more important than the numbers waiting, is the length of time these people are waiting for treatment. There is a more positive position here, with 91% of outpatients, 82% of inpatients and 99% of those awaiting a GI scope waiting 12 months or less.

The Government is committed to the ongoing development of acute hospital infrastructure, and since 2020 significant resources have been invested in Beaumont to meet the need of patients. The hospital budget for 2024 was €504 million, a 29% increase in just four years. Staffing at the hospital has grown by 13% since January 2020. This includes 257 more nurses and midwives, 75 more medical and dental staff, and 37 more health and social care professionals. Under its hospital bed expansion plan a total of 289 new and replacement beds will be delivered by 2031.

Ireland’s acute hospitals are treating more patients than ever before. The latest activity report published by the HSE outlined that there were approximately 3.9 million outpatients and 1.9 million inpatient or day case procedure, IPDC, attendances during the full year of 2024. In comparison with the levels of activity delivered in 2023, these figures represent increases of 9% for outpatient departments, OPDs, and 5% for IPDC activity. In Beaumont, outpatients attendances increased by close to 12% and IPDC by almost 3% between 2023 and 2024.

In addition to this planned care, our hospitals also treated approximately 1.8 million patients during this same period in emergency care, which represents a 9% increase on the full year 2023 and reflects the continuing demands on our hospitals. With increased investment across the public hospital system and through the 2025 waiting list action plan, the Department of Health, the HSE and the NTPF are taking the next steps in progressing the multi-annual approach towards achieving this Government’s vision of a public healthcare service where everyone has timely and transparent access to high-quality scheduled care services, where and when they need them.

I note the Deputy's remarks about Margaret and the BreastCheck waiting lists. If the Deputy has the details and wishes me to bring them back to the Department, I will do so.

Rory Hearne (Dublin North-West, Social Democrats)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit for the response. I appreciate the work being done in our health services across the country. We have to accept that the care being provided, even though doctors, nurses and administrative staff are doing their best, is not up to what is needed in all cases. Too many people in this country are left waiting on trolleys, including in Beaumont, and left waiting for appointments. What we have not seen is the full implementation of Sláintecare, which was the cross-party policy that was agreed. It is true investment has increased but the population has increased. The need has increased. We must match the level of need that is there with investment. It is simply not enough.

The Minister of State said in his response that there has been a significant increase in waiting lists in Beaumont Hospital since last year. When we look at this, of those 40,000 on the waiting list, 2,500 have been waiting for more than one year and 790 have been waiting for 15 to 18 months. To be waiting 18 months for an appointment is unacceptable.

Margaret's case is unacceptable but she is not the only one. I have been contacted by constituents who are on lengthy waiting lists for urgent care. They are worried, scared, and feel as if they are being passed from pillar to post.

This is a broader issue of dignity for patients. It is an issue of dignity for staff. We need to retain our doctors and nurses, which is linked to the housing issue and housing crisis. We need to give proper, quality employment and housing to staff and provide a quality public service.

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Hearne. It is about dignity, which I fully accept. As a former Chair of the health committee and as a TD, I am very much aware of this. People are waiting for too long for procedures and outpatients appointments, not just in Beaumont Hospital but across our hospital network. The Government is committed to addressing these issues. It is a priority of the Government and of the Minister for Health.

The importance attached to reducing waiting lists is demonstrated by the level of investment over the last number of years through the multi-annual waiting list action plan, including €420 million this year. As I said, this investment, together with additional significant investment across our health budget, means our acute hospitals are delivering higher levels of activity than ever before. As I outlined to the Deputy, the budget and staffing at Beaumont Hospital have increased significantly during a five-year period.

However, despite the increased level of activity, we are seeing a growing and an ageing population, which is leading to an increased demand and unprecedented levels of additions to our waiting times and waiting lists. As the Deputy said and as we all know, this has resulted in the number on our outpatient waiting lists and on a significant number of other lists growing which means they are higher than we would wish. We must focus on waiting times rather than the overall volumes on the lists.

A growing population and increased and expanded services will always drive appropriate referrals for consultations and procedures. Focusing on waiting times is the proper metric and here the system is showing progress and outcomes are improving. By continuing to build capacity in our public health system, employing more staff and continuing to make targeted interventions through the waiting list action plan, we will continue to make progress in our ultimate aim of achieving the Sláintecare waiting time target of ten weeks for an outpatient appointment and 12 weeks for an inpatient day case procedure.

I join with the Deputy in thanking the staff for the work they are doing. We are increasing investment and will ensure our health system is of a high quality, scheduled around the care of the patient. That is the most important thing we should be doing.