Paudge Connolly (Cavan-Monaghan, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 278: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the hospitals where it is proposed to remove seven day 24 hour accident and emergency services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41322/06]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Operational responsibility for the management and delivery of health and personal social services was assigned to the Health Service Executive under the Health Act 2004 and funding for all health services has been provided as part of its overall vote. The Executive is currently undertaking a number of reviews of acute hospital service configuration. The overall objective is to ensure the optimum configuration of acute hospital services across the country, with a view to developing acute health care which minimises risk to patients and is in line with national policy and best international practice.

The Deputy is aware that, in the North East, acute services are being developed in line with the recommendations in the Teamwork Report. In line with the report, services across the region are to be reconfigured to centralise the expertise required for the optimum care of critically ill and trauma patients. The Deputy has been briefed by the Executive on the future service configuration planned for Monaghan General Hospital, where it is planned to provide nurse-led treatment services on a 12 hour/seven day basis under the supervision of A & E consultants. The HSE will be working to ensure that changes to the existing service are introduced in a phased, planned and structured way. In the meantime, there will be no diminution in local services until suitable alternative arrangements have been put in place. I am not aware of any plan by the Executive to remove 24/7 A & E services in other regions.

The policy of the Government is to ensure the provision of safe, high-quality services that achieve the best possible outcomes for patients. Patient safety and quality must be paramount and must be the key drivers in configuring acute hospital services, including accident and emergency services. This will mean that those services that can be safely delivered locally are delivered locally and that more complex services that require specialist input are concentrated at regional centres, or, in the case of highly specialised services, in national centres of excellence. This approach is consistent with international best practice for the optimum delivery of patient care.