Results 141-160 of 1,137,365 for in 'Dáil debates' OR (speaker:John Carty OR speaker:Roderic O'Gorman OR speaker:Kieran O'Donnell OR speaker:Seán Fleming OR speaker:Mary Lou McDonald OR speaker:Darren O'Rourke OR speaker:Martin Heydon OR speaker:Francis Noel Duffy OR speaker:Imelda Munster OR speaker:Matt Shanahan OR speaker:Ivana Bacik OR speaker:John McGuinness OR speaker:Bríd Smith OR speaker:Paul Murphy OR speaker:Stephen Donnelly OR speaker:Michael Ring OR speaker:Neasa Hourigan OR speaker:Denise Mitchell OR speaker:Damien English OR speaker:Norma Foley OR speaker:John Brady OR speaker:Malcolm Noonan OR speaker:Michael Healy-Rae) in 'Committee meetings'

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Issues relating to University Hospital Limerick: Discussion (10 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: If it is okay, I will ask Ms Broderick to speak to that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Issues relating to University Hospital Limerick: Discussion (10 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: Can I respond to that, Chair?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Issues relating to University Hospital Limerick: Discussion (10 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank the Deputy for that. I am more than happy to take responsibility, obviously, but in the interest of fairness, when I was appointed, there were approximately 400 beds in UHL. We have added 118. There are 16 more that are going to open this year, 96 more in quarter 2 of next year, another 96 after that - they are under construction - and a further 84. I am more than happy to take...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Issues relating to University Hospital Limerick: Discussion (10 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: Obviously, I have taken action on it but in fairness, the Deputy's question is why now? It is because we were in the middle of adding the greatest number of-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Issues relating to University Hospital Limerick: Discussion (10 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: Yes, that is right, and I have asked the same group, HIQA, to now come back and do a thorough analysis and if that is the case, report back on where it would go and would it be attached-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Issues relating to University Hospital Limerick: Discussion (10 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: That is exactly the way I was characterising the Deputy's question. It is because two and a half years ago, we were in the middle of a massive expansion of capacity in the mid-west, not just in UHL and the other regional hospitals but in the community. We have opened five primary care centres and a lot more. This time last year, the emergency department situation in UHL was moving in the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Issues relating to University Hospital Limerick: Discussion (10 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I will have-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Issues relating to University Hospital Limerick: Discussion (10 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: There is definitely a distance and geography issue. I spend as much time as I can in west Clare and I know from my time there and talking to people in Ennis hospital that there is real concern at the distance. Deputy Shortall very fairly referred to HIQA. Its view was that the scale of Ennis hospital meant that it could not safely support an emergency department. That is exactly why I...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Issues relating to University Hospital Limerick: Discussion (10 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank the Senator. I am expecting a preliminary briefing on the HIQA report in February and the final report will be in May. I applaud the Deputy's question on consultant contracts and 24-7 on-site rostered consultant presence in our hospitals with emergency departments. The new consultant contract doubles the normal rostered times, which was a really important move. Our view was...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Issues relating to University Hospital Limerick: Discussion (10 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: We looked at Barrington's hospital but the operational view of the HSE was that the quickest way to do it was to proceed with the identified site rather than trying to split teams between setting up a temporary solution and the permanent facility that we want. On the elective hospitals, I hear loud and clear the people in Limerick loud and clear when they say there is an elective hospital...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Issues relating to University Hospital Limerick: Discussion (10 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I am not ruling anything in or out. I want to meet Aoife's mum and dad and have this conversation with them. When it comes to the responsibilities, however, all of our responsibilities and the responsibility of the HSE to learn patient safety lessons and implement them, we do not need a statutory inquiry for that piece. I know there are really serious and heartfelt questions Aoife's family...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Issues relating to University Hospital Limerick: Discussion (10 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank the Senator for that. We are going to get her the beds number. We had some very good news for St. John's. I am just going to find it now. In the new bed plan, we have committed an additional 57 beds to St. John's. I have been in the hospital several times. It has an amazing team that put a very strong case together. The Senator will be aware that 15 beds have been delivered...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Issues relating to University Hospital Limerick: Discussion (10 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: There is more here than I can cover. I will give the Senator one or two highlights, if I may. The day unit in UHL has been a big focus with regard to cancer care infrastructure. UHL has prepared and submitted a capital project proposal to move the administrative and clerical meeting spaces to a separate building and to convert those spaces to clinical spaces to increase capacity. That is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Issues relating to University Hospital Limerick: Discussion (10 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I beg the Senator's pardon. I am sorry to interrupt. If there is time, Ms Tracey Conroy leads in the Department on cancer care. She can give the Senator a better answer than I have just given.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Issues relating to University Hospital Limerick: Discussion (10 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I will get the Senator a note on that. I cannot be sure but I think I may have misspoken. I think I might have been on radio or in the Oireachtas and I may have said quarter 1, when in fact it was quarter 2. That might simply be optimism bias on my part. If it was indeed quarter 1 and it has been moved to quarter 2, I will get the Senator a note on that and what the reasons for that would...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Issues relating to University Hospital Limerick: Discussion (10 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I will give some very quick answers and then ask Ms Broderick to outline some of the operational details. As the Deputy stated, there has been a big investment in the injury and medical assessment units. The hours have been extended. The Deputy and I discussed this in the Dáil earlier this week or maybe last week. We need the facility to be fully utilised. I have no doubt that Ms...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Issues relating to University Hospital Limerick: Discussion (10 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: The Deputy and I need an entire committee session to ourselves to get through all that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Issues relating to University Hospital Limerick: Discussion (10 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I propose the following. The first questions she asked are around ED and statutory inquiries, which we have discussed at length, so will I go on to the questions she asked that we have not discussed yet?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Issues relating to University Hospital Limerick: Discussion (10 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Issues relating to University Hospital Limerick: Discussion (10 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: The Deputy has asked some new questions that are pertinent to patient safety in UHL. We might ask the Chair for a little indulgence in terms of the clock. The claims being made about staff vacancies and patient safety are disputed by me, the Department, the chief nurse and the HSE. I have written to the unions and asked for a list of these 2,000 alleged vacant posts. We have not got it...