Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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423. To ask the Minister for Health his views on the previously unpublished report of the Independent Review of Unscheduled Care Performance 2018-2019 which was released under freedom of information; the steps that he has taken to address the issues identified in nine HSE hospitals; the recommendations which have been implemented; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19141/22]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the release of the Independent Review under the Freedom of Information Act in the public interest.

The Terms of Reference were finalised by the HSE following discussion with the Department and published in June 2019. The review was conducted during 2019 by an independent review team, including external clinical and management expertise from NHS Scotland, the Scottish Government and NHS England. The nine sites under the greatest pressure during Winter 2018/2019 were selected for review.

The HSE has advised that the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 required the HSE to respond to the extraordinary challenges posed and doing so resulted in the implementation of structures and initiatives that addressed many of the issues and recommendations that were identified in the draft report. The report has remained in draft format since January 2020 and as work to close out the review process to include factual accuracy checks and responses from the nine sites reviewed was never completed.

I secured significant additional investment of €1.1bn in budget 2021 to expand capacity, increase services and support reform and this level of investment is being maintained in budget 2022. A further €77 million has been invested in the 2021/22 Winter Plan. My Department asked the HSE to take account of the Report’s recommendations when drafting the Winter Plan and the 20/21 and 21/22 Winter Plans have funded initiatives such as Frailty Intervention Teams, greater community support for older people including more home care packages, support for those with respiratory conditions and community response teams (nursing and therapies) which address some of the recommendations in the report.

€236 million revenue and €40 million capital expenditure were provided nationally as part of the Winter Plan and Budget 2021 to fund 1,146 additional beds on a permanent basis in our acute hospitals. As of the 31st of March 2022, the Winter Plan / Budget 2021 has provided over 800 non-ICU acute beds nationally to the hospital system over the number available on 1 January 2020. There have also been significant increases in staffing since 2019.

The report contains 30 consolidated recommendations and further recommendations specific to each of the nine hospitals reviewed. As implementation of the Report’s recommendations are a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.