John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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1652. To ask the Minister for Health if his Department has received a report on the most recent cost estimate and timescale for the completion of the new national children’s hospital. [34744/21]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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A thorough analysis of the New Children’s Hospital project was sought by the Minister for Health in the summer of 2020 and the National Paediatric Hospital Develop Board (NPHDB) undertook an assessment of the project to determine the implications of any delay(s) and to determine the most effective pathway to ensure the timely completion of this critical project.

The NPHDB’s analysis was submitted to the Department of Health at the end of January 2021. Further analysis was required to provide the appropriate assurances and validation to Government, and other stakeholders, that there has been a robust analysis of the way forward.

The Department continues to work with the NPHDB towards completion of this analysis and once completed, it will then be submitted to the Minister, who commissioned the analysis.

Since the analysis relates to a live contract, it is commercially sensitive and must remain confidential to ensure that the contractual relationships and the project are not adversely affected.

Updates are continually shared with all key stakeholders through the established reporting and governance structures – primarily the Children’s Hospital Project & Programme Steering Group and Board, which members include the Department of Health, the HSE and Children’s Health Ireland.

Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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1653. To ask the Minister for Health the plans that will be put in place for Temple Street and Crumlin Children’s Hospitals (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34745/21]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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It is of sincere regret that children can experience a long waiting time for hospital appointments and treatment, and I remain conscious of the burden that this places on them and their families. It is recognised that waiting times for scheduled appointments and procedures have been impacted in the last sixteen months as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic and more recently as a result of the ransomware attack.

While significant progress was made in reducing waiting times from June 2020 onwards, the surge in Covid-19 cases in the first quarter of 2021, and the resultant curtailment of acute hospital services, is reflected in the most recently available waiting list figures to 13th May 2021.

On 23 March 2021 the HSE published the “Safe Return to Health Services Plan”, outlining a three phased approach for the proposed restoration of services across Community Services, Acute Hospital Operations, Cancer Services and Screening Services. It sets target times for their safe return and details the conditions and challenges that will have to be met. However, the implementation of this plan has been suspended pending the resolution of the recent ransomware attack, which had a significant impact on acute hospitals, including Children's Health Ireland (CHI).

The HSE has been working since 14th May last to recover the effects of the cyber attack on its systems. The HSE advise that at present most systems are operational and services are returning to normal activity. There is a challenge in back entering data and there are still a number of areas of ongoing concern. The HSE was already seeking to recover from the Covid peak in the first quarter of this year and the ransomware attack has delayed this and had the effect of increasing access delays for services. My Department does not have full access to information on the impact of this ransomware attack on elective waiting lists but will provide an update as soon as one is available.

CHI has advised the Department of Health that their systems have been significantly impacted by the attack and they are currently running a press and communication campaign to advise patients of the service disruption. Up to date information on current services is also provided on the Children’s Health Ireland website.

CHI continues to engage with the Department of Health in relation to improving access to scheduled care and reducing waiting lists through regular governance meetings. CHI continues to work with the HSE and National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) to identify and support solutions to improve access to care, particularly in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic and the recent cyber-attack.

In 2020, Children’s Health Ireland engaged with the HSE and identified the HSE Care Facility in City West as an option to hold off-site Outpatient clinics and/or Day Case Procedures. Activity commenced in September last year and initiatives such as Clinical Immunology and Allergy Team Day Case procedures, Orthoptic Clinics, and Orthopaedic Active Clinical Triage Model Outpatient Clinics took place. Building on the success of the 2020 initiatives, CHI continued to use City West in 2021 for Orthopaedic, Rheumatology and Speech and Language Clinics.

More broadly, an additional €240 million has been provided in Budget 2021 for an access to care fund, €210m of which has been allocated to the HSE and a further €30m to the NTPF. This will be used to fund additional capacity to address the shortfall arising as a result of infection control measures taken in the context of COVID-19, as well as addressing backlogs in waiting lists.

Furthermore, my Department, the HSE and the NTPF are currently in the process of finalising a Multiannual Waiting List plan to address waiting lists and bring them in line with Sláintecare targets over the coming year.