Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

-----and were on call for 76 hours the following week. The whole junior doctor system has changed since then, thankfully. That is very much welcome. I thank the Senator for raising the issue of capital expenditure for Portiuncula University Hospital in the Seanad and I welcome the opportunity to update the House on this important facility in our health service.

The Government and the Minister for Health are committed to the ongoing development of regional hospitals such as Portiuncula University Hospital. This Government has allocated significant resources in order to meet the needs of patients using the hospital.

Staffing at the hospital has grown by 228 since January 2020 - from 843 to 1,092 in 2024. That represents an increase in staff of 27%. I pay tribute to Senator Dolan for the work she has done in getting a number of projects through. Since 2022, this increase includes 37 more nurses and midwives, 13 more medical and dental staff and ten more patient care staff, as well as three more health and social care professionals.

In 2020, Portiuncula had a budget of €83 million. In April 2024, the budget was €126 million. This means that the hospital's budget grown by €43 million. That is an increase of 51% in just four years.

Under the acute bed expansion plan, 16 new beds will be delivered at Portiuncula University Hospital over the course of the next four years. Ten of the new beds were opened in tandem with the opening of the 50-bed ward block to which the Senator referred in September. These ten beds will be enhanced by a further six new beds that will be provided between this year and 2028.

The HSE is developing extra capacity of nine treatment bays in the emergency department, and funding of €6.9 million has been allocated for this project to date.The design team was appointed in early 2024 following a competitive tender process. They are developing a preliminary design and outline design scheme to meet the project brief. The target completion date for the project is 2027, as this is a complex project.

The nine additional treatment bays will be included in the current building footprint and will allow the hospital to re-establish an acute medicine assessment unit. This development will stream patients from the ED and allow the frailty team to operate more efficiently.

Just last month, the Taoiseach visited Portiuncula University Hospital to officially open the Orchard and Garbally wards. These new ward blocks comprise 25 single rooms with en suite facilities and will start accommodating patients in the coming weeks.

The new ward blocks facilitate the transfer of two existing outdated wards from the main hospital building. The design and layout of the new wards will deliver a patient-centred approach and improve patient experience, particularly for those requiring end-of-life care. Single room accommodation will also reduce patient exposure to possible infections while in hospital. By improving the patient’s journey, these new wards will reduce length of stay and reduce the number of inhouse patient transfers between wards. The old, multi-bedded ward blocks will now be reconfigured to provide additional capacity in addition to providing extra space for the acute medical assessment unit and oncology day ward.

The HSE is responsible for staffing and recruitment and the staffing of new capital developments is facilitated by the Estimates process that occurs annually. The HSE has confirmed that staff and funding has been approved, and recruitment is currently in progress.

In addition to these projects, there has been a range of recent developments at the hospital including the expansion of minor operations in plastic surgery in 2023; a new nurse-led infusion unit opened in March 2023; and the opening of the Willow Suite, to provide a protected space for bereaved families in the maternity unit. These projects, along with the future planned works, speak to the high level of investment this Government has put into Portiuncula University Hospital, and will continue to invest for the benefit of patients.

In conclusion, I thank the Senator for the work that she has done in highlighting the issues and bringing them to a successful conclusion.