Results 12,961-12,980 of 49,836 for speaker:Stephen Donnelly

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (19 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: This is not meant to be a five-year project. I acknowledge University Hospital Waterford's outstanding lobbying ability on beds there. That will be considered, which is all I can say at this point. I know University Hospital Waterford is looking for more beds and a lot of hospitals around the country are saying they would love to get some of those. The Department and HSE have already done...

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (19 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: Which 150 beds?

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (19 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: No. It would potentially be part of that. We are looking at all of these asks from University Hospital Waterford, University Hospital Kerry, University Hospital Limerick and Wexford General Hospital. We want to try to find the ones that can be put in place quickly. For example, the Department might come back to me and say that this project probably requires planning and an environmental...

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (19 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: I think it already is; it is well aware of it. The proposal from University Hospital Waterford is being actively considered as part of the 1,500 beds but no decisions have been made on that yet.

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (19 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: -----through it. I have raised this directly with the chief executive of the HSE in recent days. We cannot have a situation whereby the new cath lab remains closed on the basis of additional beds. University Hospital Waterford got about 100 extra beds just before Covid arrived so whatever needs to be done locally needs to be done in order to get that lab open. I am supportive of adding...

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (19 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: I will come back to the Deputy with a briefing on that.

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (19 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: That is no problem.

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (19 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: I am pretty sure we have that information.

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (19 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: I am pretty sure we have that information for additional beds. I am not sure if we have the information for mapping the exact cost of each of those beds. We certainly have the numbers for beds so we will get that to the Deputy.

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (19 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: We will get that information for the Deputy.

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (19 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: No. I allocated a very substantial amount to scoliosis. I met all concerned towards the start of last year. There is a very dedicated team there and we allocated a hell of a lot of money. The waiting lists have not come down in the way we were told they would and the way we all want them to come down. However, it is important to acknowledge what has happened. In 2019, which is the...

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (19 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: Yes. This is one of the many examples of where we are a lot better than the narrative would have us believe. The public and political narrative around healthcare, for all the reasons we understand, is all around what is not working. We would be forgiven sometimes for believing we have a terrible healthcare system that does not work for anybody. In fact, notwithstanding the issues of...

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (19 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: The Estimates contain several hundred million euro for e-health. There is a lot of money in there.

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (19 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: The answer is "Yes". I fully agree. There was a 2013 strategy. It did not really happen because it never got funded, to be honest. It should have been funded. We would probably all agree, with the benefit of hindsight, that the project should have happened but it did not, for whatever reasons. A new strategy is now being finalised and we are looking at the period from 2023 to 2030. The...

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (19 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: I could not agree more. Probably the single greatest frustration raised with me by NCHDs are the IT systems. They cannot get their heads around having to queue up to use laptops to access patient files. It makes no sense and it is deeply frustrating for them. It is also frustrating for patients. I was in Canada recently for the St. Patrick's Day period and I spent a good deal of time...

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (19 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: I fully agree.

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (19 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: There was a lot there but I agree with everything the Deputy said. Essentially, we have one goal, which is universal healthcare, and there are three elements to that. The first is cost, which is largely a Department of Health and Government issue. The HSE does not need to be overly involved in that. It is about reducing costs to patients and a lot of progress is being made in that regard....

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (19 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: There are different layers to the proposal. We discussed the first layer when Deputy Cathal Crowe asked whether consideration could be given to localised housing. In other words, accommodation attached to hospitals. That option used to exist. It would make a great deal of sense now, particularly for healthcare professionals who move around quite a lot. The Irish Nurses and Midwives...

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 38 - Health (Further Revised) (19 Apr 2023)

Stephen Donnelly: I fully agree. There is funding in the budget here before us to expand the service. Up until now, there has been very limited clinical access for women. As the Deputy quite rightly says, there has been limited knowledge in general practice. The GPs have not had the kind of specialist support they need. There have been very limited specialist services available for referral from the GPs....