Results 721-740 of 24,635 for speaker:Mary Harney
- General Practitioner Services (11 Nov 2010)
Mary Harney: The change must be made in the first instance. Anyone who is qualified should have access to a GMS contract if they have the necessary qualifications and vocational training. If this is the case there should be no barrier. It is in the interests of the HSE to provide supports for GPs based on volume of patients. It would not be acceptable for a small practice to be given the same level of...
- Hospital Services (11 Nov 2010)
Mary Harney: The most recent information on bed closures in the acute hospital system is for the week ending 7 November. At that point 892 inpatient beds and 19 day beds were closed for reasons of infection control, refurbishment or cost containment. This is from a complement of approximately 11,800 inpatient beds and 1,800 day beds in the public hospital system. Access to appropriate care for patients...
- Hospital Services (11 Nov 2010)
Mary Harney: Over the past several years we have increasingly relied on day case activity rather than inpatient accommodation as a way of providing treatment. Last year, the HSE devised a basket of 24 procedures with the British Association of Day Surgery and set targets for hospitals to increase day activity on these procedures from 62% to 75%. There are huge variations in performance across the...
- Hospital Services (11 Nov 2010)
Mary Harney: I accept what the Deputy said about the shortage of rehabilitation facilities. Acute rehabilitation could be provided in a more localised environment and an enormous amount of work has been done on requirements at both national and local levels. Fantastic rehabilitation facilities have been developed in the mid-west for stroke and other patients in order to bring them home and get them...
- Hospital Services (11 Nov 2010)
Mary Harney: The Deputy is correct that the reductions in health spending next year will be a minimum of â¬600 million but, as the Government has not finalised the four year plan or the Estimates for next year, I am not in a position to confirm the exact figure. When I know the figure, I will sit down with the HSE to work out how the budgetary parameters can be implemented. I do not pretend it will be...
- Hospital Services (11 Nov 2010)
Mary Harney: Cork University Hospital is at the higher end because of the acuity and complexity of the work carried out there relative to other hospitals. I set out the average costs but they vary depending on staff levels and other factors. We have been making advances on an agreed policy approach for the country as a whole. Heretofore the approach was to send everybody to a single national...
- Health Service Investigations (11 Nov 2010)
Mary Harney: I welcome the Hayes report into the management of radiology and GP referral letters at Tallaght hospital, which was published on 4 November. The report is thorough and clear in its conclusions. The Tallaght hospital review identified serious concerns about the robustness of the governance structures at board and management level within the hospital. The particular problems with the board...
- Health Service Investigations (11 Nov 2010)
Mary Harney: It is clear that when next year's reductions are being made, the priority will be to maintain services for patients. I will deal with that in my discussions with the HSE when I am aware of what the exact figure will be.
- Health Service Investigations (11 Nov 2010)
Mary Harney: The HSE procures â¬3.2 billion worth of goods and services each year. I want that figure to be reduced in line with what is happening in the economy. In addition, almost â¬2 billion is spent on drugs. A further â¬1 billion is spent on non-core pay, such as premium, overtime and on-call pay. The bulk of the reductions need to be found in that basket so that services to the public are...
- Health Service Investigations (11 Nov 2010)
Mary Harney: I am not an expert in this area. It seems from the various reflections and reports we have been given since Tallaght Hospital was established, particularly the Hayes report, that insufficient homework was done in advance of the merging into one big entity of three small hospitals that had very different perspectives. When one goes into Tallaght Hospital, one will see evidence of the...
- Health Service Investigations (11 Nov 2010)
Mary Harney: In the first instance, I have spoken to Dr. Hayes. I have read his report. It is always important to speak to the authors of these reports. I did not meet him until he completed his report because I did not think it would be appropriate for me to do so. He did not ask to meet me. I had a long meeting with him on Monday. I got his insights, in addition to what he had said in the report....
- Hospital Laboratories (11 Nov 2010)
Mary Harney: Approximately 77 million laboratory tests are undertaken across 44 public hospitals each year. The HSE announced plans last year to modernise laboratory services and achieve significant efficiencies in the configuration and operation of such services. As part of this initiative, the HSE is in discussions with the National Development Finance Agency about the capital financing of a small...
- Hospital Laboratories (11 Nov 2010)
Mary Harney: I said in my reply that there is good engagement on this issue, through the Croke Park agreement, between the staff representatives and the HSE. There has been some rationalisation and reconfiguration in this area since the Teamwork report was published. Work practices have changed and more laboratories have been accredited. That is the good news. We need to achieve efficiencies in this...
- Hospital Laboratories (11 Nov 2010)
Mary Harney: Those discussions are taking place with the staff representatives but my understanding is they will start in December on a number of key sites. The sites chosen are St. James's, Beaumont, Waterford, Galway and Cork. They are having discussions with staff representatives regarding those sites and I understand they are at an advanced stage.
- Hospital Laboratories (11 Nov 2010)
Mary Harney: There will be a huge need for highly qualified medical scientists in Ireland. This is about how we organise the service and whether we continue to provide it all in house or whether we outsource it or combine the public and private sectors. Above all, we have to ensure quality in as efficient a way as possible. That is what will guide the response of the HSE and the Government in this...
- Hospital Laboratories (11 Nov 2010)
Mary Harney: I do not have all the detail but it is generally about providing the service in a more cost-effective fashion.
- Hospital Laboratories (11 Nov 2010)
Mary Harney: We would never outsource everything outside the country. One cannot run a hospital system without a laboratory system and, therefore, there is no question of that. Clearly, we have to provide these quality services in the most cost-effective way we can for all our patients and that is what will happen.
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (10 Nov 2010)
Mary Harney: As this is a service matter, it has been referred to the HSE for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
- Written Answers — Health Service Investigations: Health Service Investigations (10 Nov 2010)
Mary Harney: I have met with Dr. Hayes on 8th November and with the Chair of Tallaght Hospital on 9th November 2010 to discuss the implications of the report with them. I will meet shortly with the CEO and Chair of the HSE to establish how the recommendations of the report can be implemented as soon as possible. The main focus will be on what initiatives are needed both in the hospital and in the wider...
- Written Answers — Medical Cards: Medical Cards (10 Nov 2010)
Mary Harney: As this is a service matter it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply to the Deputy.