Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick East, Fine Gael)
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Question 245: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if she will give a firm commitment to retain the accident and emergency services at St. John's Hospital, Limerick. [39206/08]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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The Government is committed not only to ensuring the delivery of the best quality health services possible but to doing so in an effective and efficient way. Ensuring patient safety is of paramount importance, so that people can have confidence in the services and that the best possible patient outcomes can be achieved. It is essential that we prioritise patient safety and quality and that we organise and manage services accordingly. The priority is to provide safe services as close as possible to where people live.

The Health Service Executive commissioned Horwath Consultants in association with Teamwork Management Services in February 2007 to examine the arrangements for the provision of acute hospital services in the Mid West with a view to identifying the best configuration of such services in the region including arrangements for A&E, critical care, acute medicine and surgery, together with diagnostic services so that the highest quality of care can be delivered to the population of the region. St John's Hospital Limerick is encompassed by the strategic review.

The work of the consultants will act as one of the inputs to decisions on how best to reconfigure acute services in the Mid West region and the HSE is currently in the process of finalising its implementation plans in this regard. The Government and the Executive are committed to ensuring that the approach to re-organisation of services is carried out in consultation with the key stakeholders and that each element is progressed incrementally. This approach will produce the best outcome for patients. I am confident that St John's Hospital will continue to play a significant role in the provision of health services to people in the Mid West region.