Results 46,001-46,020 of 49,836 for speaker:Stephen Donnelly

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Healthcare Infrastructure Provision (13 Jun 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I wish it were simple.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Healthcare Infrastructure Provision (13 Jun 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: While this is an issue, it is not an issue in all of our hospitals. In the context of some hospitals, the cost of living in the local area is much lower and rents and house prices are much more affordable. However, as Deputy Kenny has said, in some parts of the country, it really is an issue for someone on, say, an ICU staff salary, whether that is an ICU nurse or ICU healthcare assistant....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Hospital Overcrowding (13 Jun 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: On the day in question, the HSE figure was 401 patients between those in emergency departments and those in the wards. Regardless of whether we use the INMO figure or the HSE figure, both are still far too high. I met the emergency department task force earlier this week. There is a new approach we put in place last year. Many emergency departments, many patients and their families, and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Hospital Overcrowding (13 Jun 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: There are a few issues there which I will cover. First, there is an acknowledged deficit in the number of beds. The Deputy will be aware that, two weeks ago, we launched the new business plan, which includes 3,500 beds on top of the 1,200 that have already been opened. This Government will either have opened, have under construction, or now have fully committed to, on a site-by-site basis,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Hospital Overcrowding (13 Jun 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: Yes, for years the INMO has been calling for an extra 5,000 beds, and we are adding nearly 5,000 beds. I did not see the glowing press release from the INMO welcoming all of this, but its members and doctors across the country whom I talk to are very happy with the new beds plan, partly because of the scale of it. It is beyond what people were expecting. People are expecting about 1,500...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Health Services Staff (13 Jun 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I want to make sure I am addressing the correct question.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Health Services Staff (13 Jun 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: The number of nurses in our health service has been increasing dramatically in the lifetime of this Government. Since January 2020, right across the health service we have increased the number by almost 29,000 whole-time equivalents. It really has been a huge increase. Deputy Murphy asked specifically about nurses and midwifery. In the lifetime of this Government, the nursing and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Health Services Staff (13 Jun 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank the Deputy. I fully agree and we had a debate with his colleague, Deputy Smith, recently on exactly this. There are parts of the country where they have found it very difficult to recruit or replace public health nurses. It is not something that can be allowed to stand. Public health nurses are doing essential work with infants and with older people. We cannot have babies for...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Cannabis for Medicinal Use (13 Jun 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I acknowledge the Deputy's ongoing advocacy and work in the Oireachtas on this issue. From a policy perspective, I want to take a very open approach to medicinal cannabis-based products. We want to make sure it is safe for patients, obviously, and we will always follow the clinical advice. Within that, I have told the Department and the HSE that there should be no idea of shutting these...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Cannabis for Medicinal Use (13 Jun 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: Yes.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Cannabis for Medicinal Use (13 Jun 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank the Deputy. I apologise, I was just chasing up one or two bits for him there. I hear what he is saying about the campaigners and their demands for the process to move more quickly, and that is exactly what we have done. The process that was set out in 2021 was for the review to start in 2026. We were going to wait for five years to gather sufficient evidence. The review would...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Cannabis for Medicinal Use (13 Jun 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: Yes.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Cannabis for Medicinal Use (13 Jun 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank the Deputy. It is very clear that there are beneficial effects. We currently have four authorised cannabis products, namely, Epidiolex, with which 184 patients have now been prescribed, Sativex, nabilone and dronabinol. There are 184 patients on Epidiolex and, while I do not have the figures for the others, I know that is the biggest group. We are taking it very seriously and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Hospital Facilities (13 Jun 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I would be delighted to do so, and I thank the Deputy for asking the question and giving me the opportunity. The new beds plan, as the Deputy will be aware, is for 3,500 beds, which is on top of the 1,200 that have already been delivered. It is a game-changer. Between those that have been delivered and those that are coming, there are nearly 5,000 beds. Critically, to the core of Deputy...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Hospital Facilities (13 Jun 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank the Deputy. I can be very clear that the beds plan will have no negative impact on the projects that are currently planned. We are doing both. It is part of an ongoing investment in Ennis Hospital, which really is going from strength to strength. As the Deputy will be aware, a new outpatient department was opened in 2021. Importantly, a new injury unit was opened in 2022. It is...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Hospital Facilities (13 Jun 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: We are keeping a very open mind to anything local hospitals want to bring forward in terms of proposals, with one important caveat, namely, the capital budget is what it is. The Government has expanded it very significantly in recent years, but in respect of any proposal relating to bed capacity, we would have to ask whether it would have a knock-on effect on any opportunities to increase...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Primary Care Centres (13 Jun 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank the Deputy and acknowledge his ongoing work, advocacy and interaction with me to ensure this essential primary care service in Glanmire will remain a Government priority and be opened. The provision of the new primary care centre in Glanmire is an absolute priority for the Government and the HSE. The centres, as the Deputy will be aware, play an essential role in providing...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Primary Care Centres (13 Jun 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I have no doubt the Deputy will make sure I stay on top of this. I fully agree that these centres make a huge difference to the local community and we do need to get it right. In order that people are aware, when it has opened, the services we are going to have at the primary care centre in Glanmire will include public health nursing services, primary care physiotherapy, occupational...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Primary Care Centres (13 Jun 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I will certainly ask the Department to revert to the Deputy on the Mayfield primary care centre as a matter of urgency. I echo his positive comments about the new ophthalmology services out of Ballincollig. For many years in Cork, circumstances simply have not been acceptable, whereby people could not get access to cataract appointments in a timely manner, but we are making that a thing of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Funding (13 Jun 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank the Deputy for the question, and the Irish Lung Fibrosis Association for the work it does in supporting and advocating for patients. Lung fibrosis, as he will be aware, refers to a group of diseases in which scar tissue develops in the lungs. I have been advised by the HSE that the national clinical director for integrated care has requested that a scoping exercise be undertaken to...