Vol. 569 No. 3
100 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Health and Children his views on the recent decision by the Eastern Regional Health Authority to reduce the number of patients from outside Dublin using hospitals in the Eastern Regional Health Authority area; the steps he intends to take to ensure that public patients do not deteriorate while they wait for treatment they cannot access in their own areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17541/03]
I presume that 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 in relation to the provision of hospital 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.
Having regard to the potential service and budgetary implications of any change in traditional referral patterns, my Department has recently requested the ERHA that the Department be advised of these consultations and that it be informed before any revised protocols are implemented.
