Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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400. To ask the Minister for Health given the recent publication in the media (details supplied) of the action plan for Portlaoise hospital report, the reason it has not yet been made public by his Department; the reason he has not issued a response to the report since it was finalised in December 2016; the level of consultation with local staff and service users on the issue; his views on the medical bodies' concerns of risks to patients in terms of critical care, patient transfers and consultant recruitment in the area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49262/17]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The most important issue in relation to consideration of services at the Midlands Regional Hospital Portlaoise is that patient safety and outcomes must come first. Reports on Portlaoise hospital in recent years have pointed 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. Since 2014, the focus has been on supporting the hospital to develop and enhance management capability, implementing changes required to address clinical service deficiencies, and incorporating the hospital into the governance structures within the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group. Significant work has been undertaken to strengthen and stabilise current arrangements for services at the hospital to ensure that services currently provided that are not sustainable are discontinued and those that are, are safety assured and adequately resourced.

The HSE has confirmed that hospital funding has increased by 28% relative to the 2012 budget and staffing levels have risen by 29% from the 2014 base. Funding of €300,000 has also been provided in 2017 to facilitate the opening of the new medical assessment unit.

In addition, governance and management arrangements in Portlaoise Hospital have been strengthened, additional clinical staff have been appointed and staff training, hospital culture and communications have improved.

The Dublin Midlands Hospital Group has been working for some time on a draft plan for a new model of clinical service delivery at Portlaoise Hospital. A draft plan was submitted to my Department in December 2016. This draft report was reviewed in detail and was the subject of detailed engagement between Department officials and the HSE. Significant additional work was undertaken by the HSE on foot of this engagement resulting in a revised draft plan that was submitted to my Department in September 2017.

The report is currently under detailed consideration in my Department. Once there is an agreed position on the draft plan, it is intended that there will be further engagement with all interested parties, to ensure that the needs of patients, staff, the local and wider community are addressed. Any future changes to services at Portlaoise, will have to take account of existing patient flows and demands in other hospitals, as well as the need to develop particular services at Portlaoise in the context of the overall service configuration in the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group.