Tom Fleming (Kerry South, Independent)
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To ask the Minister for Health the steps he proposes to take to address concerns (details supplied) in respect of Kerry General Hospital where as a result of cuts up to 500 surgical operations were cancelled over the summer period and a further 300 cancellations are planned between now and the end of the year; if he will reassure the County Kerry public that this hospital will not be downgraded; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47669/12]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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Over the last two to three years, despite a reduction in budget, the HSE have made considerable gains in relation to service provision at Kerry General Hospital. The hospital will retain the level of services required to provide services in its 24 hour Emergency Department (ED), into the future. The newly opened ED and the two recently appointed ED consultants are testament to this achievement along with the upskilling and development of nursing posts to the role of advanced nurse practitioner. The new ED provides the environment to deliver a range of services in an appropriate environment for both those attending as well as the staff who provide the service.

Allied to that, there has been an expansion in consultant physician numbers in the hospital in conjunction with the impending opening of the new Acute Medical Assessment Unit and the associated relocation of cardiology services to new facilities within the hospital. Tralee Community Nursing Unit was recently opened and this enabled the transfer of long stay care services from the acute hospital to more appropriate facilities, a move greatly welcomed by the community. There has also been an expansion in consultant surgeon numbers. These are just some of the positive developments that have taken place and are not the mark of a hospital with a doubt as to its future.

Surgical services in Kerry General Hospital are currently delivering well in excess of the funded level of provision. Hospital management, in conjunction with the consultant surgeons, put measures in place to control the position or it would otherwise have placed the hospital in further financial difficulty. Prudent management is required to ensure appropriate measures are in place to provide service to the funded level and not beyond. In this regard it is also important to be clear that at no stage has there been a reduction imposed or considered in relation to emergency surgery in the hospital.

All clinical targets such as in-patient and day procedure activity have to be adhered to and where there are areas of activity over the service plan targets control measures are put in place to bring activity into line with the hospital service plan. For example in Kerry General Hospital sixty theatre lists were removed over the summer period to control activity levels in line with resource and this will be extended as necessary. This has culminated in a necessary planned reduction of theatre usage over the coming months.

It is acknowledged that there are significant challenges in delivering services in the current economic environment. As with all public hospitals, there is an increasing demand for services at Kerry General Hospital. Despite the high level of flexibility shown by the staff to maintain and improve the level and quality of service, the task is a constant and significant challenge. The management team at Kerry General Hospital are aware of these issues and are constantly working to resolve them.

The delivery of safe services has remained the priority across the Kerry Area in 2012 and the cooperation and flexibility of staff across the services, in line with the requirements of the Public Service Agreement, has yielded significant success.

The Regional Service Plan 2012 set out an ambitious programme of reorganisation of services given the position that there would be a reduction in staffing and available funding. The evidence as outlined for the Kerry Area shows that significant progress has been made in the majority of the targets as set out in the plan. The hospital in particular is working with the requirements of the clinical programmes in acute medicine, surgery and emergency medicine, to be as efficient as possible in the face of the demand for the services, and will continue to do so to the year end.

With regard to consultant positions in the hospital, vacancies are being processed through the Public Appointments Service in order to replace staff who have retired. Replacement positions in the areas of radiology, anaesthetics, and orthopaedic surgery are currently being processed in this manner. Two replacement positions in paediatrics have recently been filled.

Finally, there should be no concern with regard to the future of Kerry General Hospital as a level three hospital, and the above outline of developments show that the hospital remains of significant importance in the network of acute services in the South area.