Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

22. To ask the Minister for Health if funding will be provided to deliver a MRI scanner to Monaghan Hospital. [48992/23]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Monaghan Hospital and Cavan General Hospital operate as a single entity, with an integrated managerial and clinical governance system, care pathways and support functions. Monaghan Hospital is focused on elective care and the streaming of appropriate patients to the Minor Injuries Unit.

The HSE advises that Cavan & Monaghan Hospital has two operating CT scanners and one MRI scanner. There are currently no proposals within my Department to increase the number of CT and/or MRI scanners in Cavan & Monaghan Hospital.

As Minister for Health, I am committed to the ongoing development of regional hospitals, including Monaghan Hospital, which has a role as part of Cavan & Monaghan Hospital in delivering a higher volume of less complex care closer to a patient’s home. It also ensures that patients who require emergency or complex planned care are managed safely in a larger hospital environment.

The budget for Monaghan Hospital has increased from €7.7m in 2019 to €9.9m in 2022, an increase of 28% in 3 years. Since July 2023, the Minor Injury Unit at Monaghan Hospital has been open 7 days a week, enabling patients to be seen and treated in their local area. The Government will continue to ensure that Cavan & Monaghan Hospital is supported to provide services to a high standard for patients in the region.