Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Independent)
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328. To ask the Minister for Health the details of the recently restructured administrative and functional areas of the Health Service Executive in respect of the hospital groups and community healthcare organisations with geographic locations and population numbers in the case of each; the reason these areas are not coterminous; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47018/14]

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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The Report “The Establishment of Hospital Groups as a Transition to Independent Hospital Trusts” was published in February 2013. This report recommends the following Hospital Groups:

1. RCSI Hospitals Group (Estimated Population, 800,000):

Beaumont Hospital; Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda; Connolly Hospital; Cavan General Hospital; Rotunda Hospital; Louth County Hospital; Monaghan Hospital.

2. Dublin Midlands(Estimated Population, 800,000):

St James's Hospital; The Adelaide & Meath Hospital, Dublin, including the National Children's Hospital (AMNCH); Midlands Regional Hospital, Tullamore; Naas General Hospital; Midlands Regional Hospital at Portlaoise; The Coombe Women and Infant University Hospital.

3. Ireland East(Estimated Population 1,000,000):

Mater Misericordiae University Hospital; St Vincent's University Hospital; Midland Regional Hospital Mullingar; St Luke's General Hospital Kilkenny; Wexford General Hospital; National Maternity Hospital; Our Lady's General Hospital Navan; St Columcille's Hospital; St Michael’s Hospital, Dun Laoghaire; Cappagh National Orthopaedic Hospital; Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital.

4. South/South West(Estimated population 850,000):

Cork University Hospital, incorporating Cork University Maternity Hospital; Waterford Regional Hospital; Kerry General Hospital; Mercy University Hospital; South Tipperary General Hospital; South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital; Bantry General Hospital; Mallow General Hospital; Lourdes Orthopaedic Hospital, Kilcreene.

5. Saolta Health Care Group(Estimated Population, 700,000):

University Hospital Galway and Merlin Park University Hospital; Sligo Regional Hospital; Letterkenny General Hospital; Mayo General Hospital; Portiuncula Hospital; Roscommon County Hospital.

6.UL Hospitals(Estimated Population 400,000):

Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Limerick; Ennis General Hospital; Nenagh General Hospital; St John's Hospital; Mid-Western Regional Maternity Hospital; Mid-Western Regional Orthopaedic Hospital.

7. Children’s Hospital Group

Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin, Children’s University Hospital, Temple Street and the paediatric service in AMNCH.

On 8 October 2014, the HSE launched the Community Healthcare Organisations (CHO) Report. The Report sets out plans for a comprehensive reorganisation of health services outside the acute hospital system into nine CHOs. The primary focus is to meet the maximum proportion of people's care needs in the communities where they live and to achieve joined-up, integrated services. The text of the report and associated appendices, together with a "Frequently Asked Questions" (FAQ) document, is available on the HSE website www.hse.ie.

In determining the optimum organisational model for the CHOs, the HSE identified a requirement for integration between the different parts of the community healthcare services; between community healthcare services and acute hospitals; with wider public service organisations such as local authorities, the Child and Family Agency (Tusla), the education sector and An Garda Síochána, and with local voluntary organisations.

The option selected was arrived at after consideration of a number of options, details of which are contained in the HSE report on Community Healthcare Organisations The option selected was deemed the most appropriate on the basis that it met a key requirement of linking primary care networks and teams and secondary care with acute hospitals; it provided a strong basis for linkage with local authority boundaries and it struck an appropriate balance between an organisation of sufficiently large scale to support organisation and business capability, while at the same time being of sufficiently small scale to provide the local community connection and response required to deliver integrated care.

The nine Community Healthcare Organisations and the general areas to be covered by each are set out below.More detailed information, with maps indicating the geographic areas involved, is contained in the HSE report and associated FAQ document. The population figures quoted are derived from the 2011 Census.

Area 1(Population 389,048)

Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim/West Cavan, Cavan/Monaghan

Area 2(Population 445,356)

Cos. Galway, Roscommon and Mayo

Area 3(Population 379,327):

Clare, Limerick, North Tipperary/East Limerick

Area 4 (Population 664,533)

Cos. Cork and Kerry

Area 5(Population 497,578):

Carlow, Kilkenny, South Tipperary, Waterford, Wexford

Area 6 (Population 364,464):

Dun Laoghaire, Dublin South-East, Wicklow

Area 7(Population 674,071)

Kildare/West Wicklow, Dublin South City, Dublin South-West, Dublin West

Area 8(Population 592,388):

Laois, Offaly, Longford, Westmeath, Louth, Meath

Area 9(Population 581,486):

Dublin North, Dublin North-Central, Dublin North-West

The process of implementation of the CHO structures is currently under way and they are due to come into being in January 2015. It is envisaged that the principal day-to-day linkages at clinical and patient level will be between the primary care networks and the relevant service within the Hospital Group. There will also be significant inter-Hospital Group interfaces for certain national services and it is envisaged that individual CHOs will interface with hospitals from more than one Hospital Group. Work to give effect to these interfaces is comprehended by the reform programmes currently underway in the HSE.