Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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824. To ask the Minister for Health if he or his Department officials are in discussions with any particular provider about an elective hospital being built in Limerick city or county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51887/22]

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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825. To ask the Minister for Health if a site for an elective hospital in Limerick is being considered; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51888/22]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 824 and 825 together.

In December 2021 the Government agreed, subject to the necessary approvals and requirements under the Public Spending Code being met, a new National Elective Ambulatory Care Strategy. This new strategy aims to change the way in which day case, scheduled procedures, surgeries, scans and outpatient services can be better arranged to ensure greater capacity in the future and help to address waiting lists. The development of additional capacity will be provided through dedicated, standalone Elective Hospitals in Cork, Galway and Dublin. The Government decision is very clear on this. No other locations are under active consideration at this time as these are our immediate priorities.

It is important to note that the locations chosen will allow for new facilities of a size and scale to implement a national elective care programme that will tackle waiting lists on a national basis. This means that the new facilities will be designed to maximise their capacity and in doing so will operate to cover as wide a catchment area as possible, extending beyond existing and future health areas including the mid-west.

The locations were also chosen in line with good practice which suggests that, in order to maximise economies of scale, dedicated, standalone elective centres should be “as big as is reasonably possible” to meet identified demand while providing appropriate population coverage. Locating the new facilities in Cork, Dublin and Galway will enable the provision of a national service while aiming to maximise the coverage of the ECCs as far as is reasonably possible. A central point of introducing these new facilities is not that they will only benefit the subset of the population that sit within their direct catchment but rather that the introduction of this new delivery capability into the Public Healthcare System will benefit the whole population, including those who do not fall within the immediate geographical catchment. It is envisaged that the Cork and Galway facilities combined will cater for up to 350,000 patients/procedures annually.

Limerick City Council and members of the Limerick 2030 plan have engaged with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Centre (UPMC) on developing lands in a Limerick regeneration area. This includes plans for Limerick social housing. Limerick City Council sought UL Hospitals to meet with UPMC to outline the specific health needs of the Mid-Western region which informed UPMC’s plans to build a 150-bed hospital, providing capital funding. They proposed the model of a Section 38 Hospital jointly run by UPMC and UL Hospitals Group. Such decisions are beyond the scope of UL Hospitals, they require government approval and thereafter sanction from the HSE. We understand that UPMC have engaged local and national political representatives on this proposal, as well as St. John’s Hospital and UL Hospitals Group.