Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Kyne for raising this important issue. I attended those presentations of the Saolta Group, which were quite interesting. As the Senator is aware, the national development plan states:

New dedicated ambulatory elective only hospital facilities will be introduced in Dublin Galway and Cork. These facilities will provide high volume, low complexity procedures on a day and outpatient basis, together with a range of ambulatory diagnostic services. The high volume of demand for such services in these major urban centres is sufficient to justify the construction of dedicated ambulatory centres.

I note that the introduction of these dedicated elective sites is also in line with the recommendations of the 2018 health service capacity review. These high-volume, low-complexity facilities will play a crucial role in developing the elective hospital capacity with a ten-year horizon of need, looking to current and future population demographics, which facilitates the separation of scheduled and unscheduled care and provides quicker, higher quality, safer care for selected elective patients. The new elective hospitals will also create capacity for acute hospital sites and reduce or eliminate outlier boarding - effectively trolleys - assist in reducing cancellations and acute hospital footfall, and drive down waiting lists, both outpatient and inpatient or day case.

An elective hospitals oversight group, chaired by Professor Frank Keane, is following the process outlined in the public spending code in bringing forward this project for the Government's consideration. As required under the code, a strategic assessment report has been completed. This sets out the rationale for investment, the alignment of the programme with strategic requirements of Government, some initial options and potential costs and the governance of the programme. Work is ongoing on a draft preliminary business case, which will recommend a single site option in each of Galway, Cork and Dublin. A site identification exercise to identify possible suitable sites in the three locations will begin in the near future. In accordance with the public spending code, sites short-listed following this exercise will be appraised on a qualitative and quantitative basis, with a view to recommending a single preferred option in each location. Once completed, the draft preliminary business case will go to Government for consideration and decision.Department of Health officials have engaged in consultations with the management of the hospital groups around the country, including, in recent days, the Saolta University Health Care Group. The Minister is conscious that the elective hospitals programme is only part of the solution for deficiencies in existing healthcare facilities highlighted by Covid-19, including issues such as privacy, single bedrooms, space, light, air ventilation and ICUs. The review of the national development plan under way may provide an opportunity to address some of these infrastructural and other issues. In the meantime, the Minister has committed to exploring synergies between the electives programmes and plans for the development of other services drawn up by the hospital groups in Galway and elsewhere. Under the current site identification exercise, for example, it is a requirement that sites must be sufficiently large so as to be capable of expansion and have the potential, in a later phase, to accommodate possible other services on-site.

The Minister looks forward to continued discussions with the Senator and keeping the Seanad informed of developments on the programme.