Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for the opportunity to come before the House to give an update on this matter. I am taking this on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Donnelly. I have no doubt that if the Minister was here, he would be quite disappointed with the level of detail in the script I have in front of me because it really does not address everything that the Senator asked about. Perhaps we might address it in a roundabout way and we get to the endgame on it.

The demand for ophthalmic services has grown in the region over the past number of years. This is due both to the development of new treatments and the ageing population profile. Recent reports predict this demand will continue to increase in the coming years. The Senator is quite right in that this is going on since 2017 when the National Clinical Programme for Ophthalmology Model of Eye Care 2017 and the reconfiguration of acute hospital services for Cork and Kerry commenced. It was decided that there should be a regional department of ophthalmology. The South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital was chosen as the site best suited for this. As part of these developments the ophthalmology outpatients department, OPD, the eye casualty at Cork University Hospital and the OPD from Mercy University Hospital will transfer to a new ophthalmology OPD and eye casualty building at South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital. The South-South West Hospital Group, SSWHG, has advised that it expects that the new operating theatres will be open in March 2023. If I was to read between the lines, that is when I would think that the surgeon will be appointed and that is the start date. Surely we are not going to open a building without the people who are part and parcel of it? The new ophthalmology unit OPD includes two operating theatres, anaesthetic, scrub and prep rooms, a recovery unit and an ophthalmology day unit. The unit will also include the most modern equipment and will have access to supportive diagnostic technology. In addition to developing hospital services, this unit will also support continued work with the regional eye care service based in the primary community care centre in Ballincollig.

The Ballincollig centre will treat patients through multidisciplinary teams, MDTs, working together to provide patient care in a community setting. It will bring care closer to the patient's home, increase integration between the hospital and community settings and deliver the best outcomes for children and adults requiring ophthalmic care in the Cork and Kerry areas. The HSE is currently working on equipping the centre, including with specialist ICT infrastructure, and ensuring it is appropriately staffed.

There are two significant dates. One is March 2023. which is for the theatres. That is what the Senator asked about in regard to the surgeon. Then there is May 2023 which is when the additional 35 staff will be in place. Knowing that it takes the guts of nine months to recruit a staff member within the HSE I have no doubt, reading between the lines, that the fact we have opening dates that recruitment for such posts is under way. We cannot say we are going to open in March if we do not have the key people to run the unit. I would take, from reading that, that staff will be there for March 2023 but it will be May 2023 for the community care centre in Ballincollig. I will ask the Minister to find out from the officials where we are in the recruitment process because, as the Senator rightly said, recruitment and retention is difficult and challenging but that is quite specialised.

We need to know that we are down to a selection process at this stage because people would need to be able to give notice in their other jobs if they were transferring over.