Results 37,141-37,160 of 49,836 for speaker:Stephen Donnelly

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services (26 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services (26 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 175 and 176 together. The Programme for Government 2020 is committed to increasing resources for the Children’s Palliative Care Programme. This will be supported by consultants with a special interest in children’s palliative care and children’s outreach nurses to coordinate care for children with life-limiting conditions and their...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Appointments Status (26 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: Under the Health Act 2004, the Health Service Executive (HSE) is required to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. Section 6 of the HSE Governance Act 2013 bars the Minister for Health from directing the HSE to provide a treatment or a personal service to any individual or to confer eligibility on any individual. In relation to...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Staff (26 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: The Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment provided access to the General Employment Permit for the role of Health Care Assistant in June 2021. The framework agreed with the Department of Health included the requirement for the permit holder to achieve a relevant Level 5 Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) qualification after two years employment in the State. Responding to...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Abortion Services (26 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: The Minister for Health commenced the Review of the operation Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 in line with statutory and Government commitments. The Review, led by an independent Chair, assesses the extent to which the Act’s objectives have, or have not, been achieved. Recommendations to address any barriers identified have been suggested within the Report. The...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Abortion Services (26 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: The Minister for Health commenced the Review of the operation Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 in line with statutory and Government commitments. The Review, led by an independent Chair, assesses the extent to which the Act’s objectives have, or have not, been achieved. Recommendations to address any barriers identified have been suggested within the Report. The...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Challenges in Hospitals: Minister for Health (26 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank committee members for their invitation to discuss the very real challenges faced by patients in public hospitals, progress in the past three years and, critically, plans for ongoing expansion of capacity in parallel with fundamental reform of patient care. Like many of my colleagues on the committee, I have visited emergency departments across the country to hear first hand the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Challenges in Hospitals: Minister for Health (26 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: I share the concern of the Senators and Deputies who represent the region regarding patients in UHL. It does not get discussed much, but it is important to state that when we are discussing UHL and University Limerick Hospitals Group, the focus, quite rightly, is on what is happening in the emergency department. However, I acknowledge, and we might come to it on a different day, that the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Challenges in Hospitals: Minister for Health (26 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: There is healthy engagement with UHL. They have said that in order to do that they need more staff. Those staff members have been allocated. The changes to working practices have to be seen. I need to be very clear that we are not singling out the emergency department consultants. This is about senior decision-makers right across the board.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Challenges in Hospitals: Minister for Health (26 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: I have outlined some of the things we are doing about it. The hospital has an ask of Government, which we are stepping up to, and that can be seen. We have an ask of them, which is that reforms of working practices are implemented. There is also an ask, quite rightly, from the Senator and other Members who represent the region. This is to do with the services outside the hospital being...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Challenges in Hospitals: Minister for Health (26 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: Yes, it is successful, which is good to see, and a significant resource is going in to support it. The group has been approved for over €5 million in funding to support extended operational hours of the MAUs at St. John's Hospital and Nenagh General Hospital to seven days per week. That began at Easter. We are also keeping in place the extended MAU hours that were put in place in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Challenges in Hospitals: Minister for Health (26 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: We can always keep an open mind on these things. I know there was a lot of talk, for example, about an elective-only hospital for Limerick in collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, UPMC. I might ask Dr Henry or Mr. McCallion for their views on this. In my view, we should always keep an open mind to these things while acknowledging that there is very significant...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Challenges in Hospitals: Minister for Health (26 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: I hope it will be open as early as possible next year. We are putting significant investment into regional hospitals. Many in the region would like one in Limerick, but the Cork and Galway regional hospitals are intended to serve the Limerick area as well.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Challenges in Hospitals: Minister for Health (26 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank the Chair, and I thank Deputy Cullinane for the question. I brought the report to Cabinet yesterday. The Irish Timesdid have it up, and it is obviously very well informed. We are putting it up publicly today, and obviously sending it to this committee for consideration. My ask of Government yesterday was that the report would be referred to this committee, so it will be referred to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Challenges in Hospitals: Minister for Health (26 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: I fully accept it, with one addition. More than 490,000 people are waiting above those ten- and 12-week targets. I fully accept it. However, it is important that we acknowledge that very significant progress is also being made. Dr. Henry, Mr. Damien McCallion and Ms Mary Day in the HSE, and then the officials in the Department, are working night and day on this. We are very focused. I...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Challenges in Hospitals: Minister for Health (26 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: Yes, Deputy, categorically.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Challenges in Hospitals: Minister for Health (26 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: I am satisfied, but this is not easy. I might ask Mr. Derek Tierney, who is leading it from within the Department, to comment. We are doing something that has not been done before. One issue we can all agree on is that it takes the State far too long to build hospitals, wards, and new bed blocks but what we saw during Covid-19 was something new. There were derogations for planning and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Challenges in Hospitals: Minister for Health (26 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank the committee, including all members present, for their strong support of the consultant contract because that is the cornerstone of this. When I discussed exactly this matter in Limerick, the contract was referenced. The intent from the Government's perspective is reformed working practices; I fully agree. Using UHL as an example, I asked for information on the increase in...