James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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Question 411: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the progress made on the programme for Government commitment to see a significant increase in doctor numbers in all parts of the system; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30048/09]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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My Department together with the Department of Education and Science, and in conjunction with the Health Service Executive (HSE) and Higher Education Authority, will continue to steer the implementation of Government policy on medical education and training arising from its consideration of the recommendations in the Fottrell and Buttimer reports on undergraduate and postgraduate medical education and training.

Government policy is to have a consultant-delivered rather than a consultant-led service and to increase substantially the number of consultants in the public health service in order to re-balance the ratio between consultant and non-consultant hospital doctors subject to the full implementation of reformed work practices. The HSE has created approximately 180 new medical consultant posts since Consultant Contract 2008 was agreed. The creation and funding of further consultant posts will be driven by service priorities, as reflected in the HSE's Annual Service Plan, and the policy of achieving a better balance in the ratio of consultants to non-consultant hospital doctors.

There are twelve General Practitioner (GP) Specialist Training Programmes currently in operation in the State. They are all of four years duration - two years spent in hospital posts under the supervision of hospital consultants, and two years in an approved general practice under the supervision of a general practice trainer. The total number of places available is 120. The recently published report of the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN) predicts that this figure will not be sufficient to meet the demands of a growing and ageing population into the future. The Health Service Executive and the Irish College of General Practitioners are currently in discussion with a view to increasing the number of GP trainees by streamlining existing programmes in a cost effective manner. In addition, the College have identified a number of doctors who have not had formal training in general practice but who are interested in pursuing a career as a GP. The provision of a programme of training for these doctors is also being examined.

The data and analytical capacity for workforce planning has been improved with the publication of the EGFSN / FÁS Report on selected health occupations including medical consultants; general practitioners; and specialists in public health medicine.

A Workforce Planning Strategy which is being finalised by my Department and the HSE will propose greater coordination and integration of workforce planning with service and financial planning.

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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Question 412: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the progress made on the programme for Government commitment to increase the supply of professionals needed to meet the plans to develop new services for persons with disabilities; if she will improve and sustain our primary healthcare and hospital services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30049/09]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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There has been a growing demand for, and investment in, physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech and language therapy services over the last number of years. A particular priority for my Department and the Department of Education and Science in recent years has been the expansion of the supply of therapy graduates. The Government has also invested heavily in the education and training of such personnel in order to secure a good supply of graduates to provide for the healthcare needs of the population into the future.

The Government is committed to ensuring continued adequate recruitment of professional staff across a range of community settings to ensure the continued development of community services. Additional funding of €20 million has been provided in 2009 for health and education services for children with special educational needs. This funding will provide a total of 125 additional therapy posts in the HSE targeted at children of school-going age. 90 of these will be in the disability services, including speech and language therapists, occupational therapists and physiotherapists. 35 additional posts will be provided for child and adolescent mental health services, including clinical psychologists, occupational therapists and speech and language therapists for new and existing multi-disciplinary teams.

My Department has written to the Health Service Executive setting out the overall approved employment control ceiling for 2009. As part of this approval, written confirmation has been provided to the HSE that the general moratorium on recruitment, promotion and the payment of acting up allowances does not apply to specific designated grades. Delegated sanction has been given to the HSE for the creation and filling of frontline posts including speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and physiotherapy posts. The approval indicated that vacancies in existing posts in these grades may continue to be filled. New posts may also be created in these grades, up to a specified limit, provided that the HSE is satisfied in each case that there is no scope to redeploy an equivalent post from the hospital sector to the primary and community care sector. This moratorium exemption provides for an increase in the number of therapy posts, in line with Government policy, in order to meet the requirements of integrated care delivery and primary care needs particularly in respect of children at risk, the elderly and those with disabilities. The recruitment and retention of these key front line therapy posts is vital to ensure continued progress in the development of community settings.

The HSE National Service Plan, which I approved in December, sets out the type and volume of services to be delivered in 2009. The HSE is reconfiguring many of its front line services. This is in keeping with the overall strategic direction as set out in the HSE Corporate Plan 2008-2011. The planned reconfiguration of frontline services set out in the Service Plan includes conversion of in-patient work to day case work, a focus on reducing in-patient length of stay in acute hospitals, reduction of in-patient bed numbers and associated costs and the provision of more services in community settings, thus reducing the dependency on in-patient beds.

My Department has agreed a monitoring framework with the HSE which includes the receipt of monthly performance reports from the HSE which provides information on the progression of the National Service Plan.