Results 1,541-1,560 of 49,836 for speaker:Stephen Donnelly

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Primary Care Centres (3 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I join the Deputy in offering my sincere condolences to Dr. Fitzsimons, her children and the entire family on their recent bereavement. The Gurteen health centre is located in south Sligo. The centre houses a public health nursing service, a day centre for older persons and the local GP practice. Local HSE primary care management has advised that it is aware of the issue of restricted...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Health Services (3 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I will not do the topic justice here. There has been a lot of careful thinking. We will publish the report and allow everybody to look at it in the round. The Government has progressed substantially in terms of the second cath lab in Waterford University Hospital. As the Deputy will be aware, the second cath lab opened in September of last year. That was an important milestone. The...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Health Services (3 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I appreciate that. We will publish the report. Let us all review it in the round.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Hospital Services (3 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank the Deputy for the question. I support his call for ongoing investment in the medical assessment unit in Nenagh Hospital. The unit has been providing a valuable service locally. In many cases, it is an alternative to the emergency department for GP referrals. It is currently open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Last year, more than 4,000 patients were referred to the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Hospital Services (3 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: The number of presentations does not reflect the concerns that people are bringing to the Deputy. I will share the relevant numbers. In 2021, there were 1,300 referrals. In 2022, there were 2,500 referrals. Last year, there were 4,100 referrals. This year's number will be in excess of that. Between 2021 and 2023, years for which we have the figures, there was a 300% increase in the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Hospital Services (3 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: This is probably the first conversation I have had where any Deputy has called for a reduction in healthcare service provision in a constituency. I do not think I have ever heard hospital staff calling for fewer services to be provided. We need to treat this carefully. As I said, the number of referrals is not in line with what the Deputy is hearing. The number of referrals tripled in...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Hospital Services (3 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I know the Deputy is not saying that, and of course we will do as he says. It is interesting that the concerns the unions are raising with the HSE are that they do not want to work the rosters that are being offered. That is what the HSE is hearing. The Deputy might share specific examples of unfilled slots and I will ask the HSE about it on the back of this conversation. It goes without...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Children's Hospital (3 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank the Deputy for his question. As we are all aware, the main contractor has now missed its own deadline 14 times. It missed its own deadlines four times this year alone. Neither the HSE nor the Government has confidence in deadlines that a contractor puts forward when the contractor misses its own deadlines 14 times. Our position and that of the board has been clear, in that the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Health Services (3 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank the Deputy for the question. The national review of adult specialist cardiac services is finalised and I have received the report. I do not have the date but I have received it and I will move to publish it very shortly. I want to bring it to Government. It is a very good and comprehensive report. One of the reasons I did not publish it right away was I did not want to publish a...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Health Services (3 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I fully accept the Deputy's point. We will bring the review to Government imminently and it will then be published. The review kicked off after the focus on University Hospital Waterford. That was the genesis of it. I thank Professor Nolan and his team for their work. When the Deputy sees the report he will see it is a comprehensive piece of work. What Professor Nolan and his team have...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Primary Care Centres (3 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I wish to thank the Deputy for allowing me to update the house on this matter. Dundalk Primary Care Centre (PCC) is being delivered 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 fixed period. All Primary Care Centres delivered via the Operational Lease model are subject to the...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Services (3 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: This government has invested significantly in Mallow General Hospital. The Deputy will be aware that this government has added 34 additional beds increasing capacity from 37 beds to 71 beds. A further 24 beds are also planned under the Bed Capacity Expansion Plan. In 2019, Mallow had a budget of €19.9m, this government has increased the budget for Mallow to €31.7m in...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Healthcare Policy (3 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: The Department of Health’s 2010 Children’s Palliative Care Policy guides provision of palliative care services for children and their families in Ireland. Services are provided using a multiagency approach - including adult specialist palliative care services. The new National Adult Palliative Care Policy contains a suite of recommendations that relate to children’s...

Written Answers — Department of Health: National Children's Hospital (3 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: Timely completion of the New Children’s Hospital is a Government priority and must be for all those involved. In the last year alone, the contractor has deferred the date to deliver this new building four times. Everyone will share the frustration over the repeated delays to substantial completion of the building. We need to open the doors of this world class hospital for our...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Primary Care Centres (3 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: The Community Health Centre in Castlemartyr, was in use up to 2 weeks ago by the Home Help Service. At present, the property is vacant, however the HSE plan to use the property in the provision of health services in the area. A review of service options is currently underway, which will inform the short- to medium-term use for the health centre. The service options appraisal is...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Primary Care Centres (3 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I wish to thank the Deputy for allowing me to update the house on this matter. HSE Community Healthcare West is currently actively engaged in supporting the development of a Primary Care Centre in the South Connemara Primary Care team area – this area includes An Cheathrú Rua/Carraroe. The plans for this development are at a very early stage, with the accommodation schedule...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Services (3 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I am advised that the reason for the temporary cessation of this service is that the two consultant doctors providing the chronic pain service in Sligo University Hospital have both moved to new roles. The HSE advises that recruitment to fill these two vacant consultant anaesthetist posts in the pain service is actively ongoing. Advertisements are active in all appropriate websites and...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Equipment (3 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: As Minister for Health, I am committed to the ongoing development of regional hospitals, including Cavan & Monaghan Hospital. This Government has allocated significant resources in order to meet the needs of patients using the hospital: The budget for Monaghan Hospital has increased from €11m in 2021 to €14m in 2024, an increase of 27%. Staffing has increased by 70%,...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Staff (3 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: As Minister for Health, I am committed to the ongoing development of Letterkenny University Hospital. This Government has allocated significant resources to Letterkenny which will benefit patients: The hospital budget has increased from €157 million in 2020 to €196 million in 2024, a 25% increase in 4 years. Staffing at the hospital has grown by 437 since January 2020, an...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Facilities (3 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I am delighted to inform you about some significant capital infrastructure proposals for Beaumont Hospital. A new Emergency Department (ED) centred around a reconfiguration of the existing ED, which will include an 8-bay resuscitation area, is being proposed. This proposal is ongoing and is at the Detailed Design stage of the process. The Beaumont Hospitals Technical Services...