Results 37,021-37,040 of 49,836 for speaker:Stephen Donnelly

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (19 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: This is not meant to be a five-year project. I acknowledge University Hospital Waterford's outstanding lobbying ability on beds there. That will be considered, which is all I can say at this point. I know University Hospital Waterford is looking for more beds and a lot of hospitals around the country are saying they would love to get some of those. The Department and HSE have already done...

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (19 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: Which 150 beds?

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (19 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: No. It would potentially be part of that. We are looking at all of these asks from University Hospital Waterford, University Hospital Kerry, University Hospital Limerick and Wexford General Hospital. We want to try to find the ones that can be put in place quickly. For example, the Department might come back to me and say that this project probably requires planning and an environmental...

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (19 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: I think it already is; it is well aware of it. The proposal from University Hospital Waterford is being actively considered as part of the 1,500 beds but no decisions have been made on that yet.

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (19 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: -----through it. I have raised this directly with the chief executive of the HSE in recent days. We cannot have a situation whereby the new cath lab remains closed on the basis of additional beds. University Hospital Waterford got about 100 extra beds just before Covid arrived so whatever needs to be done locally needs to be done in order to get that lab open. I am supportive of adding...

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (19 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: I will come back to the Deputy with a briefing on that.

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (19 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: That is no problem.

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (19 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: I am pretty sure we have that information.

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (19 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: I am pretty sure we have that information for additional beds. I am not sure if we have the information for mapping the exact cost of each of those beds. We certainly have the numbers for beds so we will get that to the Deputy.

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (19 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: We will get that information for the Deputy.

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (19 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: No. I allocated a very substantial amount to scoliosis. I met all concerned towards the start of last year. There is a very dedicated team there and we allocated a hell of a lot of money. The waiting lists have not come down in the way we were told they would and the way we all want them to come down. However, it is important to acknowledge what has happened. In 2019, which is the...

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (19 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: Yes. This is one of the many examples of where we are a lot better than the narrative would have us believe. The public and political narrative around healthcare, for all the reasons we understand, is all around what is not working. We would be forgiven sometimes for believing we have a terrible healthcare system that does not work for anybody. In fact, notwithstanding the issues of...

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (19 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: The Estimates contain several hundred million euro for e-health. There is a lot of money in there.

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (19 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: The answer is "Yes". I fully agree. There was a 2013 strategy. It did not really happen because it never got funded, to be honest. It should have been funded. We would probably all agree, with the benefit of hindsight, that the project should have happened but it did not, for whatever reasons. A new strategy is now being finalised and we are looking at the period from 2023 to 2030. The...

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (19 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: I could not agree more. Probably the single greatest frustration raised with me by NCHDs are the IT systems. They cannot get their heads around having to queue up to use laptops to access patient files. It makes no sense and it is deeply frustrating for them. It is also frustrating for patients. I was in Canada recently for the St. Patrick's Day period and I spent a good deal of time...

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (19 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: I fully agree.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Pharmacy Services (20 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: The Department of Health recognizes the key role of Pharmacy in the Community, and the ongoing significant contribution made by this sector to patients and the public, particularly during the pandemic. My department is actively considering the potential role that pharmacy may play in the development and implementation of future healthcare reform, especially in regard to the aims and...

Written Answers — Department of Health: General Practitioner Services (20 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: The Irish model of general practice is based on private practice, and all GPs providing GP services in Ireland currently are private practitioners. The HSE does not directly employ GPs for the provision of GP services. There are approximately three and a half thousand GPs working in Ireland at the moment. Of these, over 2,500 GPs hold a General Medical Scheme (GMS) contract with the HSE...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services (20 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 17 and 19 together. A top priority for Government is to increase access to health services. The record growth in the health budget over successive budgets coupled with the expansion of the workforce is evidence of this commitment. We are delivering this increased access through an unprecedented expansion in the capacity of our public health service in...