Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Question 189: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if he will make available the protocol put in place and agreed between the CEO of St. Vincent's Hospital Dublin, the director of the national referral centre for adult cystic fibrosis, the CEO of the Cystic Fibrosis Association of Ireland and the national director of clinical strategy and programmes, Health Service Executive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13805/11]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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As part of the recent discussions between my Department, the HSE, St. Vincent's University Hospital and the Cystic Fibrosis Association of Ireland, it was agreed that, in advance of the opening of the new unit, appropriate clinical care pathways would be further developed for Cystic Fibrosis patients including protocols for admission and discharge to the National Cystic Fibrosis Centre at St. Vincent's University Hospital.

The HSE Directorate for Clinical Programmes intend to develop a programme encompassing Cystic Fibrosis, having regard to similar programmes in other countries, to better enable patients to receive their care on an ambulatory day care basis or in their home. The HSE Directorate has already engaged with relevant stakeholders to begin this process.

Within the ambit of this proposed programme the HSE has undertaken to further develop protocols for treatment at in-patient, outpatient and home level. In addition appropriate clinical indicators will be agreed around treatment protocols and length of stays. In carrying out this work the HSE, in conjunction with other appropriate stakeholders, intend to consider practices at centres in other jurisdictions in relation to international best practice and review the current medical processes regarding CF care, so that the necessity to transfer patients to hospital would be reduced.