Vol. 568 No. 3
79 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Health and Children if the announcement made by the chief executive officer of the Eastern Regional Health Authority is legal; if the authority stops persons from outside Dublin coming to the capital to meet specialists; and if the Government has approved this. [16280/03]
I presume the Deputy is referring to a recent decision by the Eastern Regional Health Authority, ERHA, to prepare protocols in relation to the referral of patients from other health board areas for elective services in hospitals in the eastern region.
Successive Governments have pursued a policy of regional self-sufficiency is relation to the provision of hospitals services in order to ensure that patients are in a better position to access services locally. The benefits of this policy are evident through a series of major infrastructural developments in hospitals around the country which has resulted in the availability of more services and new specialties on a regional basis. However, for reasons of complexity, a number of specialised services are concentrated in the eastern region. The ERHA has acknowledged that the referral of patients from outside the region to avail of tertiary and super-regional services in the eastern region remains appropriate given the range and specialised nature of the services provided.
The Deputy may wish to note that the ERHA intends to have discussions with the health boards and the acute providers in the region in relation to the development of referral protocols.
