Written answers

Tuesday, 27 July 2021

Photo of Catherine ConnollyCatherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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2693. To ask the Minister for Health the status of the implementation of the new consultant-led public health model; when the model will be fully implemented; the number of new consultant posts in public health medicine which will be created as part of the model; if recruitment of these new consultant posts in public health medicine has started to date; if so, the status of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38801/21]

Photo of Catherine ConnollyCatherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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3316. To ask the Minister for Health the status of the implementation of the recommendations in the 2018 Crowe Horwath report on the Role, Training and Career Structures of Public Health Physicians in Ireland; the timeline for the full implementation of the recommendations of the report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41339/21]

Photo of Catherine ConnollyCatherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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3317. To ask the Minister for Health his plans to undertake a review of the legislation underpinning the public health function in Ireland, as recommended in the 2018 Crowe Horwath report on the Role Training and Career Structures of Public Health Physicians in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41340/21]

Photo of Catherine ConnollyCatherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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3318. To ask the Minister for Health his plans for the development of a new national development plan for the public health workforce pursuant to the Crowe Horwath report on the Role, Training and Career Structures of Public Health Physicians in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41341/21]

Photo of Catherine ConnollyCatherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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3319. To ask the Minister for Health his plans for the development of a new organisational model for the delivery of public health services pursuant to the Crowe Horwath report on the Role, Training and Career Structures of Public Health Physicians in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41342/21]

Photo of Stephen DonnellyStephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 2693 and 3316 to 3319, inclusive, together.

My Department and the Health Service Executive (HSE) are committed to delivering on the recommendations that were made for Public Health in the Crowe Horwath report. The report recognised the very important role that public health medicine plays in the health of our population and in how our health service is managed and delivered.

Our Public Health Specialists have been to the forefront of our response to the pandemic. They have made an enormous contribution to the protection of everybody living in Ireland. This pandemic has certainly highlighted that Public Health Medicine must be reformed and strengthened such that the skills and expertise which are unique to Public Health Physicians can be leveraged to ensure maximum return for the Irish health service and ultimately benefit and improve the health of the population as a whole.

An agreement was reached with the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) earlier this year that will support the implementation of a fundamentally reformed consultant led public health model at a national and regional level which is aligned with international best practice.

Implementation of this agreement is now in progress and finalisation of the new operating model for Public Health is expected in the coming weeks. The new Model will be implemented by December 2023, with the establishment of 34 consultant posts in the first year and a total of 84 Consultant in Public Health Medicine posts by end December 2023. The phased nature of the implementation will facilitate the completion of a review process to ensure reform is embedded throughout the implementation process. Work is underway in order to begin recruitment of the first phase of posts as a priority.

Photo of Catherine ConnollyCatherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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2694. To ask the Minister for Health the status of the establishment of regional health areas in line with recommendations in the Oireachtas Committee on the Future of Healthcare Sláintecare Report 2017; the number of regional health areas have been established to date; the details of the organisational and management structures of the promised regional health areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38802/21]

Photo of Stephen DonnellyStephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Mar is eol don Teachta Connolly, the commitment to establish Regional Health Areas (RHAs) was first outlined in the Oireachtas Committee on the Future of Healthcare Sláintecare Report (2017). The Programme for Government 2020 further outlines a commitment to bring forward detailed proposals on these six Regional Health Areas to enable delivery of local services for patients that are safe, of high quality, and fairly distributed across each of the agreed six new health and social care regions.

This commitment has been further affirmed in first Sláintecare Implementation Strategy (2018) and Action Plan (2019), and the most recent Sláintecare Action Plan (2021 – 2023). The latest HSE Corporate Plan (2021) also commits to progressing RHAs as does the Department of Health Statement of Strategy (2021-2023).

The government decision of July 2019 approved the geographies of six new Regional Health Areas. It also approved the development of a detailed business case and change management programme to implement these. Understandably, this work was paused as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Work to develop a business case for the establishment of the six Regional Health Areas recommenced in Q1 2021 and is currently progressing. This work is being coordinated across multiple units in the Department of Health. There has been engagement with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform on this topic already this year. Consultations with other key stakeholders, including the HSE, patients and clinicians, are underway or planned. This consultative work will continue over the next several months.

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