Results 6,721-6,740 of 49,836 for speaker:Stephen Donnelly
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children's Hospital: Discussion (12 Jun 2019)
Stephen Donnelly: Turning to the issue of staff, there will be a large complement in the new hospital. Ms Hardiman mentioned a figure of 3,388. Will she break down that number and say whether those staff will be clinical, administrative and management staff, etc.? How many clinicians are included in the figure of 3,388?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children's Hospital: Discussion (12 Jun 2019)
Stephen Donnelly: Is that across the country or the greater Dublin area?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children's Hospital: Discussion (12 Jun 2019)
Stephen Donnelly: There is an increase of 312 which is quite an increase.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children's Hospital: Discussion (12 Jun 2019)
Stephen Donnelly: How much of a reduction is foreseen in the number of administrative and management staff owing to the reconfiguration?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children's Hospital: Discussion (12 Jun 2019)
Stephen Donnelly: No, I understand that, which is why I am asking about how much of a reduction is foreseen.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children's Hospital: Discussion (12 Jun 2019)
Stephen Donnelly: That is great. Will Ms Hardiman provide us with the figures? It would be very helpful to know what they are.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children's Hospital: Discussion (12 Jun 2019)
Stephen Donnelly: While Ms Hardiman is looking them up, I will ask Mr. Barry some questions. Ms Hardiman might take the time to look up the answers to two questions.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children's Hospital: Discussion (12 Jun 2019)
Stephen Donnelly: As we move to the figure of 3,700 staff, it is good to see that capacity is projected to increase. I am interested in hearing the answers to two questions. What is the projected increase in the number of clinical staff? I presume - Ms Hardiman might clarify the position - there will be a commensurate reduction in the number of administrative and management staff as we move from having...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children's Hospital: Discussion (12 Jun 2019)
Stephen Donnelly: I thank Mr. Barry for that. He also mentioned that additional executive personnel had resigned. Could he elaborate on that? How many people, was it voluntary or did Mr Barry, as the new chairman, suggest that some people needed to leave?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children's Hospital: Discussion (12 Jun 2019)
Stephen Donnelly: I refer to the scale of the overspend, and the detail we now know about the various management failures and so forth that led to this substantial overspend. Mr. Barry's sense previously was that the team was probably missing some skills. What additional skills has he brought into the team to ensure such overspends do not happen again?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children's Hospital: Discussion (12 Jun 2019)
Stephen Donnelly: Mr. Barry mentioned the managed equipment service. Clinicians I have spoken to are very worried about the fact that this has been dropped. Their point is that around the world it is best practice to have managed equipment services. For example, in our children's hospitals in Dublin at the moment, some of the most important diagnostic machines such as MRI machines were meant to be...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children's Hospital: Discussion (12 Jun 2019)
Stephen Donnelly: I think that-----
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children's Hospital: Discussion (12 Jun 2019)
Stephen Donnelly: -----is exactly the point. The experience of our clinicians in the Irish healthcare system is that the ongoing investment is not made. For example, fancy equipment is bought and not maintained. The way of dealing with this and, therefore, securing a higher quality healthcare service, was to move to the managed equipment service whereby that investment is locked into the contract.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children's Hospital: Discussion (12 Jun 2019)
Stephen Donnelly: Before I return to Ms Hardiman, one of the areas that I questioned Mr. Barry on previously is cost savings. This significant overrun has serious implications for the healthcare system and other sectors. Moving away from a better way of ensuring that the diagnostics equipment is up to speed is one of these. Medical care in the building is being sacrificed because of the overrun. On the...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children's Hospital: Discussion (12 Jun 2019)
Stephen Donnelly: I do not blame the architects, who work to a brief but given Mr Barry's considerable experience in major construction projects, is it the case that this design using curves and so on is essentially a very expensive design for the State to be engaged in?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children's Hospital: Discussion (12 Jun 2019)
Stephen Donnelly: It is for taxpayers today. I thank Mr. Barry. I would like to go back to Ms Hardiman but I am happy to stop and come back in the next round.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children's Hospital: Discussion (12 Jun 2019)
Stephen Donnelly: Can Ms Hardiman go through the figures, please?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children's Hospital: Discussion (12 Jun 2019)
Stephen Donnelly: It is not a reduction, it is a transition. My fear was that Ms Hardiman might say something like what she has just said. When three hospitals are combined into one, there are significant opportunities to rationalise.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children's Hospital: Discussion (12 Jun 2019)
Stephen Donnelly: I am sorry.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Children's Hospital: Discussion (12 Jun 2019)
Stephen Donnelly: What is the number?