Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein)
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511. To ask the Minister for Health the timeframe for his Department to complete its consideration of the plan it has received again on the future of services at Portlaoise Hospital. [40024/16]

Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein)
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512. To ask the Minister for Health the details of the Government policy regarding the continuation of emergency department services at Portlaoise Hospital; his views on the matter in the context of under capacity in the system across the State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40025/16]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 511 and 512 together.

My Department and the HSE are committed to securing and developing the role of Portlaoise Hospital within the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group.

The most important issue in relation to any changes at Portlaoise Hospital is that patient safety and good quality outcomes must come first. Reports on Portlaoise Hospital in recent years point to the need for reconfiguration of some services to ensure that patients are treated in the most appropriate setting by specialist staff that can safely meet their needs.

The Group has been working for some time on a draft plan for a new model of clinical service delivery at Portlaoise Hospital which takes account of the need to develop services at Portlaoise in the context of developing the model of service provision for the entire Hospital Group.

The HSE has now submitted the draft plan to my Department and it will now be reviewed in detail by the Department. Any changes to services at Portlaoise, once approved, will be undertaken in a planned and orderly manner and will take account of existing patient flows and demands in other hospitals and the need to develop particular services at Portlaoise in the context of overall service configuration in the Dublin Midlands Group.