Results 7,401-7,420 of 49,836 for speaker:Stephen Donnelly

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Hospital Facilities (18 Jan 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: Important progress has been made on the 1,500 beds. We are looking at a modular approach and rapid-build technologies, which can cut several years off these projects. Typically, these come in blocks of 24 beds, as do the traditional builds. The Deputy will have seen that they come in blocks of 24 and 48 beds, up to 96 beds, and they come faster. We are looking at them for a number of...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Hospital Facilities (18 Jan 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: That is exactly what we want to do. We want to move forward with this as quickly as possible. I am not familiar with the figure of 700 beds but I will check with the officials as regards the thinking behind it. The Deputy and I are in agreement on the need for more beds. Many beds have been delivered but we want to deliver many more. If we get agreement on providing all 1,500 beds, on...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Cancer Services (18 Jan 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank the Deputy for the question, which is on a matter that is very close to my own heart. The advancement of cancer services for patients in Ireland is a priority for me and the Government. The Deputy will be aware that we allocated €40 million to the national cancer strategy. That money has been put to very good use by our healthcare workers. We have hired nearly 400...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Services (18 Jan 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: The Government is committed to developing and improving services in University Hospital Limerick and overall Health services in this region. This is evidenced by the substantial and sustained investment in infrastructure and staff in recent years. There has been major capital investment in this hospital.In 2021, a new 60-bed modular ward block opened.Two separate rapid-build projects...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Strategies (18 Jan 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: The Government is extremely conscious of the distress overcrowded Emergency Departments cause and the very challenging working conditions in hospitals throughout the country. This winter is the first winter we are using an all-year approach to urgent and emergency care, since the switch last year from annual winter plans recognising that the required investment, changes and supports go beyond...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Facilities (18 Jan 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: As the Deputy will be aware, the HSE has proposed a process of planned service changes at Our Lady's Hospital Navan and has advised that these changes are necessary to support safe service delivery on a sustained basis and are driven first and foremost by patient safety considerations. I want to assure the Deputy that no decision regarding the HSE’s proposal for the transition of...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Overcrowding (18 Jan 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: The Government is extremely conscious of the distress overcrowded Emergency Departments cause and the very challenging working conditions in hospitals throughout the country. This winter is the first winter we are using an all-year approach to urgent and emergency care, since the switch last year from annual winter plans recognising that the required investment, changes and supports go beyond...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Healthcare Infrastructure Provision (18 Jan 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: The National Elective Ambulatory Care Strategy was agreed by Government in 2021. Significant additional capacity to better enable the separation of scheduled and unscheduled care will be provided through a national network of dedicated, standalone Elective Hospitals. The Preliminary Business Case, approved by Government in December 2022, identified St Stephen’s Hospital as the...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services Staff (18 Jan 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I am pleased to inform the Deputy that, as part of Budget 2024, I secured funding for an additional 2,268 posts in the HSE. This brings the agreed whole time equivalent (WTE) total for HSE for 2024 to 146,600 posts. The safe staffing framework implementation will be included in the HSE National Service Plan for 2024 using an agency posts conversion approach, resulting in an additional 400...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Economic and Social Research Institute (18 Jan 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank Deputy Cullinane for his question on the ESRI Report ‘The National Development Plan in 2023: Priorities and Capacity’. I welcome its publication. My Department has only just received the report. My officials and I will be giving careful consideration to its findings in preparation for engaging with the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform in the...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Primary Care Centres (18 Jan 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I wish to thank Deputy for raising the issue of Primary Care Centre developments across Cork. Regarding Blarney Primary Care Centre, the HSE advised that it had been engaging with a developer for this proposed PCC and that Cork County Council had granted planning permission for same. However, that planning decision was appealed to An Bord Pleanála, who upheld the planning decision....

Written Answers — Department of Health: Primary Care Centres (18 Jan 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I wish to thank the Deputy for allowing me to update the house on this matter, as I know that the Deputy has raised this matter a number of times with my Department in the past. Ballyhaunis Primary Care Centre (PCC) is to be developed through the Operational Lease mechanism, whereby the HSE enters into agreement with a developer to build a PCC and the HSE then leases the building for a...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Cannabis for Medicinal Use (18 Jan 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: In it’s 2017 publication “Cannabis for Medical Use – A Scientific Review” the Health Products Regulatory Authority found that at that timeThere was an absence of scientific data demonstrating the effectiveness (efficacy) of cannabis products. The safety of cannabis as a medical treatment is not well characterised.There was insufficient information on its safety...

Written Answers — Department of Health: National Treatment Purchase Fund (18 Jan 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I recognise that waiting lists have been historically high, a situation that worsened considerably with the Covid-19 pandemic. That's why I sought and secured significant funding for a multi-annual approach to reducing waiting lists and more importantly waiting times. The core target of achieving a 10% reduction in the number of patients breaching the Sláintecare waiting times was...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medicinal Products (18 Jan 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: In 2023, a new record of almost €3 billion was spent on medicines by the State. This represents nearly €1 in every €8 of public funding being spent on health. This unprecedented level of investment in our health services supports access for patients to the latest range of medicines. Over the last 3 years the State has invested €98 million in new medicines to...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Primary Care Centres (18 Jan 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I am very happy to report to the Deputy that there has been recent progress regarding the development of the Primary Care Centre (PCC) in Youghal. Originally, consideration was given to development of a PCC through the re-configuration of existing facilities on the site of St Raphael’s Hospital at Old Golf Links Road, Youghal. However, following the completion of a feasibility...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Facilities (18 Jan 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I would like to thank Deputy Harkin for her question and allowing me the opportunity provide an update on the progress being made in Sligo University Hospital. The delivery of health capital projects is a dynamic process, subject to the successful completion of the various project approval stages, for example in line with the newly published Infrastructure Guidelines and also market response...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Overcrowding (18 Jan 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: The reduction in trolley numbers witnessed in the last six months of 2023 compared to 2022 is testament to the efforts of healthcare workers. This winter is the first winter we are using an all-year approach to urgent and emergency care, instead of using a winter plan each year. The Urgent and Emergency Care Operational Plan is based on four pillars: ED Avoidance, ED Operations, In-hospital...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services (18 Jan 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: It is of the utmost importance that services are encouraged to report all incidents. This reporting includes minor incidents and near misses. A cornerstone of improving the safety of our health services is continuous improvement based on learning from errors and adverse events. Reporting of all incidents promotes learning within services and informs improvements. A variety of incident types...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Overcrowding (18 Jan 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: The Emergency Department at UHL continues to manage high volumes of patients attending and like many EDs around the country is currently seeing a surge in patients with respiratory conditions. In 2023 the ED had 80,000 presentations,12% more than 2019. Significant additional investment has been provided to University Hospital Limerick in recent years, including the opening of 150...