Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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913. To ask the Minister for Health when a child (details supplied) will receive a very urgent appointment at UHL; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [60930/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I fully acknowledge the distress and inconvenience for patients and their families when hospital appointments and procedures are postponed.

While every effort is made to avoid postponements, they can happen for a variety of reasons, including capacity issues due to increased scheduled and unscheduled care demand, and unforeseen circumstances that may impact a service.

Patient safety remains at the centre of all hospital activity and elective care scheduling. To ensure services are provided in a safe, clinically aligned and prioritised way, hospitals follow HSE clinical guidelines and protocols.

Postponed hospital appointments and procedures are, where appropriate, rescheduled as early as possible with priority given to patients requiring time-sensitive and urgent treatment.

Under the Health Act 2004, the Health Service Executive (HSE) is required to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. The Minister for Health is prohibited from directing the HSE to provide a treatment or a personal service to any individual or to confer eligibility on any individual.

In relation to the particular query raised, as this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.