Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

78. To ask the Minister for Health the extent to which comparisons have been made with staffing levels at various grades including nurses, doctors, consultants and administrators in this jurisdiction with other European Union countries; whether the staffing levels here compare favourably or otherwise with those applicable in other countries; if other forms of expenditure per capita here have been measured against those elsewhere with a view to achieving a comparable delivery of services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13751/16]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

My Department has committed, in its Statement of Strategy 2015-2017, to developing a national integrated strategic framework for health workforce planning, in collaboration with Government Departments and agencies. Workforce Planning models in other countries will be assessed and analysed as part of this development process. This will provide an overarching framework for strategic, discipline-specific workforce planning and development, including the work of the Taskforce on Staffing and Skill Mix for Nursing and work currently underway in the HSE's National Doctors Training and Planning Unit on medical workforce planning. The framework is intended to support the stability and sustainability of the health workforce in Ireland into the future.

The ability to provide high quality health and social care services depends on having a sufficient level of and appropriately trained health and social care workforce in place.

There has been a significant increase in the number of consultants working in the public health service since the establishment of the HSE reflecting the policy outlined in the 'Hanly Report' of moving to a consultant delivered service. That study recognised that the number of consultants in Ireland were low when compared to international standards. Numbers have increased by over 850 from the end of 2004 to the end of April 2016 and the HSE is committed to growing the consultant workforce into the future.

The work of the Taskforce on Staffing and Skill Mix for Nursing will inform policy on the appropriate level of nurse staffing, taking account of factors unique to the Irish health system, in the first instance within the acute hospital sector.

The HSE's National Doctors Training and Planning Unit is working on a series of medical workforce reports addressing the manpower needs of all medical specialties. It produced its first report in September 2015 on medical workforce for General Practice in Ireland in which projected the future demand for GPs taking account of a range of factors such as population ageing, Government policies on Primary Care, part-time working and expected retirements and other exits from the workforce. It is currently working on medical workforce reports for Anaesthesia and Critical Care services.