Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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274. To ask the Minister for Health if he will provide an explanation for the decision to change the paediatric and outpatient care centre service situated at Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown, from walk-in to appointment only; if clinical evidence was consulted and considered in the decision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9407/23]

Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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275. To ask the Minister for Health the reason the urgent care clinic for children at Connolly Hospital, open since July 2019, and designed as a walk-in clinic to treat children with emergent illness and injury as its title implies for example sprains, vomiting, minor cuts, mild asthma and so on and with the purpose of seeing 25,000 patients per year in addition to 17,000 outpatient appointments, appears set to operate on an appointment-only basis, though 'urgent' care need of a child, by its nature, cannot be foreseen; the plans his Department has to prevent or correct this situation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9415/23]

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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280. To ask the Minister for Health if he will address issues raised in correspondence (details supplied) regarding the urgent care clinic for children at Connolly Hospital, Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9460/23]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 274, 275 and 280 together.

CHI at Connolly, which opened in July 2019, is a children’s Outpatient and Urgent Care Centre staffed by specialist paediatric team including nurses, doctors, health and social care professionals and support staff. Urgent care is for the diagnosis and treatment of injuries or illnesses requiring medical review which are not serious enough to require Emergency Department attendance or inpatient admission.

The demand for services in CHI at Connolly Urgent Care Centre has steadily increased since it opened and CHI has advised that the Urgent Care Centre is currently seeing daily attendances far beyond the planned level of service activity. This demand is putting significant pressure on the system, resulting in long waiting times, and impacting on patient experience, which is difficult for both families and staff.

To address these issues CHI, informed by clinical advice, changed the Urgent Care Centre at Connolly from a walk-in service to a same day appointment service from the 22nd of February. A digital swift queue process on the CHI at Connolly website allows families to book an appointment at short notice and there are options for parents who cannot access online services.

This approach will improve patient experience by reducing onsite waiting times for families and will also redirect attendances which are more clinically suited to primary care or an Emergency Department. CHI is currently monitoring the impact of this change across the CHI sites.