Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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145. To ask the Minister for Health if a plan has been developed for the future of services at Portlaoise Hospital which will include the continued provision of emergency department services [33283/20]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy will be aware that the Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise has been the focus of a number of investigations and reports in recent years. The reports point to the need to reconfigure some services to ensure that patients are treated in the most appropriate setting by specialist staff who can safely meet their needs. Against that backdrop, the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group submitted a draft action plan for a new model of clinical service delivery at the hospital. That plan takes account of the need to develop services at Portlaoise in the context of developing a model of service provision to span the Hospital Group.

While no decision has yet been taken on the draft action plan, it is important that in any consideration of services at the hospital, patient safety and patient outcomes are the priority. It is also important that any reconfiguration of Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise is undertaken in the context of, and aligned with, the overall Slaintecare process and the progression of the Regional Health Areas.