Results 16,081-16,100 of 49,836 for speaker:Stephen Donnelly

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Health Services Waiting Lists (8 Dec 2022)

Stephen Donnelly: I believe there is. The health and social care professional field is a diverse group of professionals in skills and training. As the Deputy said, we are not talking about a lot. We have 20 graduates a year and we probably need 40 a year, given the scale of what we are looking at. We are looking at nursing places moving from 2,000 to 4,000. The scale of the move from 20 to 40 should be...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Health Strategies (8 Dec 2022)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank Deputy Matthews for the question. One of the locations in which the ophthalmic service is provided is in our own constituency in the Deputy's home town of Bray. I value the important role that community ophthalmologists play. I am fully committed to the development of the community service to facilitate the integrated provision of eye care in local communities. As the Deputy...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Health Strategies (8 Dec 2022)

Stephen Donnelly: It is a valuable service. I hope the Deputy got taken care of. Areas covered include acute treatments such as inflammatory or infectious eye conditions, chronic treatments such as cataracts, pre- and post-op care, age-related macular degeneration, surgical treatments such as corneal ulcer surgery and eyelid injuries. The treatment fees are set out in schedule 3 of SI 274 from 2013. The...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Hospital Facilities (8 Dec 2022)

Stephen Donnelly: I am more than happy to look at whether there is a discrepancy in the answers that the Deputy has received. The update I have received is that the submission will be going to the property steering committee shortly. I am more than happy to look at that. Importantly, I reiterate that I have met the clinicians and I have visited Galway a few times. I was there recently and we talked about...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Hospital Facilities (8 Dec 2022)

Stephen Donnelly: There are two sides to this. I would agree with Deputy Conway-Walsh's comments and indeed, those from the clinicians and the hospital that we need more beds and facilities. However, there is an awful lot more that they could be doing with what they already have. For example, the last time I met with the team not long ago, they said that they needed more diagnostic suites and theatres. I...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Hospital Waiting Lists (8 Dec 2022)

Stephen Donnelly: A very large amount of money, €443 million, has been allocated. The figure for this year is €350 million, while there was a lower figure in quarter 4 of last year. All of this is beginning to accelerate and provide improvements for patients. Of the €443 million for next year, €123 million is recurrent funding being sought to improve and speed up various patient...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Hospital Waiting Lists (8 Dec 2022)

Stephen Donnelly: The NTPF is working very well. We funded it to provide treatment for any patient waiting more than six months for up to 15 high-volume procedures. That will increase to 20 high-volume procedures. I am pleased to note that as of the end of last month, 80% of patients waiting for more than six months for these procedures have been authorised for NTPF treatment. It is going very well. ...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Hospital Facilities (8 Dec 2022)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank the Deputy for her comments on the elective hospital. The national cancer centre is being looked at. I have had meetings on it in the past few weeks. It is an important project. As the Deputy rightly says, it is one of several significant investments in healthcare in Galway. We had agreement yesterday on the elective hospital. A proposal, which I support, is in for a...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Hospital Facilities (8 Dec 2022)

Stephen Donnelly: The proposal is being progressed and is working its way through the various stages. The public spending code is a very laborious process. It was put in place after the cost overruns at the national children's hospital. There is a balance to be struck between managing the costs in the public interest and trying to build facilities as quickly as possible. There is a balance to be struck...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Hospital Facilities (8 Dec 2022)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank the Deputy for the question. I was delighted yesterday to secure Government agreement on both those elective hospitals. I know Deputy Connolly has tabled a question on the Galway one. It is worth spending a moment to reflect on what a difference these hospitals will make. The Cork hospital, which, as Deputy Burke will be aware, will be at Sarsfield Court, will have nine...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Hospital Facilities (8 Dec 2022)

Stephen Donnelly: I fully agree. If we think through what is required now, while five years seems like a very long time, and, obviously, we would love these facilities to be in place tomorrow, tendering for detailed design, the detailed design itself, securing planning, tendering for construction, the construction itself and then commissioning, unfortunately, take quite a bit of time. One of the advantages...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Hospital Facilities (8 Dec 2022)

Stephen Donnelly: I fully agree. I will add two points to that. The other thing we secured agreement on yesterday was five new surgical hubs. These are based on the Reeves day surgery centre in Tallaght hospital, which has been successful. It consists of four operating theatres for day cases only. It has not been fully open for two years, yet Tallaght hospital has seen a 58% reduction in its day case list...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Health Services Staff (8 Dec 2022)

Stephen Donnelly: It is expensive but the funding has been allocated. As we were discussing, the systems will become operational in the new year, which is important. Let me refer to the changes. For a staff nurse on point 4, the gross salary last year, excluding the premium and overtime, was €35,130. With the cost-of-living increase and the Building Momentum increase, that is now €36,684....

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Emergency Departments (8 Dec 2022)

Stephen Donnelly: I, too, commend the staff of Beaumont on their work. It is an impressive hospital with an impressive team. In spite of the challenges of Covid, respiratory syncytial virus , winter and the flu, the team is doing fantastic work. I fully acknowledge that the new emergency department is important. The proposal includes a reconfiguration of the existing emergency department. Associated...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Emergency Departments (8 Dec 2022)

Stephen Donnelly: The figures very much back up what the Deputy and people in the hospital know, which is that emergency department attendance today, by comparison with 2019, is up by approximately 8.5%. On top of that, admissions from the emergency department are up 20% on 2019. There has, therefore, been a huge increase in the number of patients coming in and the complexity of their care needs. A 20%...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Emergency Departments (8 Dec 2022)

Stephen Donnelly: It will be progressed as quickly as possible. I intend to make funding available to continue with the work in the capital plan for next year. As projects progress and we move through the various stages, the costs involved increase, as the Deputy will be aware. In the short term, before the new development is in place, we are making available many more resources for the emergency team....

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Health Services Staff (8 Dec 2022)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank the Deputy for raising this. We agree. I am keen that all pay adjustments due under Building Momentum are paid to HSE and section 38 staff as soon as possible, with retrospective application to the appropriate date. As he will be aware, all public servants, including HSE staff and section 38 staff, are entitled to pay adjustments due under Building Momentum, along with relevant...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Health Services Staff (8 Dec 2022)

Stephen Donnelly: Yes, it is frustrating. It is frustrating for the staff, first, and for the Government and all of us as public representatives. It is not for any lack of will on the part of the HSE or the Department. As the Deputy correctly pointed out, unfortunately, we have outdated legacy systems, including for payroll. A new process is being put in place. One of the first places we are applying it...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Health Services Waiting Lists (8 Dec 2022)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank the Deputy for his question. The 2022 waiting list plan is part of a multi-annual approach to reduce waiting times. Most importantly, it focuses in the first instance on long waiters to meet the Sláintecare targets. We now have three-year waiting list plans. A great deal of effort was made on waiting lists in the last quarter of 2021, which resulted in a reduction of 5% in...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Health Services Waiting Lists (8 Dec 2022)

Stephen Donnelly: I agree with the Deputy's first point, in that we need a single consolidated waiting list view. Among other measures, we need electronic patient records to achieve this. Many patients are on many different waiting lists and they all get counted as individual patients. We are making a significant investment in e-health and electronic patient records. I acknowledge the Deputy's support...