Ned O'Keeffe
Question:563 Mr. N. O’Keeffe asked the Minister for Health and Children when funding will be made available to a health board to develop a project (details supplied). [11517/04]
View answerTuesday, 27 April 2004
Questions (505, 506, 507, 508)
Written answers
I assume the Deputy is referring to the proposed public private partnership project in the Southern Health Board. The project is for eight community nursing units, CNUs, which will provide an additional 400 beds for respite, convalescence, long stay and rehabilitation services, to elderly patients in the Southern Health Board area. A central services unit, CSU, was originally included as part of the project however, in view of the health sector reform programme it has been agreed with the board that the CSU will not be included as part of the public private partnership project. It will be considered separately in the context of the health services reform programme.
Under the public private partnership arrangement proposed for this project, a private sector consortium will enter into a long term contract of approximately 25 years with the southern health board to design, build, finance and partially operate the CNUs. The clinical services will be provided by the health board. The board is currently in consultation with my Department and is in the process of finalising its public sector benchmark, PSB. The PSB is a comprehensive, detailed, risk adjusted costing of the project elements using conventional procurement over the whole life of the project. When the PSB is finalised it will be submitted to the Department of Finance for approval to proceed to the next phase of the project, which will be to advertise in the Official Journal of the European Union for a consortium to deliver the project.
The full cost of the project will not be known until a preferred bidder is selected. Funding for the health board to develop the CNUs will then be considered in the context of capital and revenue resources available to my Department.
Gay Mitchell
Question:564 Mr. G. Mitchell asked the Minister for Health and Children if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the home help service for Inchicore and Ballyfermot will have its allocation for 2004 severely restricted and that this will result, for example, in a person who has chronic lung disease, awaiting a heart and lung transplant and is on oxygen therapy 24 hours per day, being left without a home help; if his attention has further been drawn to the fact that the system in Inchicore and Ballyfermot is at the point of collapse; if the meagre resource required to alleviate these difficulties will be supplied; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11518/04]
View answer
As the Deputy will be aware, the provision of the home help scheme in the Dublin 8 and 10 areas is, in the first instance, the responsibility of the South Western Area Health Board acting under the aegis of the Eastern Regional Health Authority. As the information requested by the Deputy is not routinely collated in my Department, my Department has written to the chief executive officer of the authority and asked him to supply me with the relevant details. The information sought will be forwarded to the Deputy as a matter of urgency.
Paul McGrath
Question:565 Mr. P. McGrath asked the Minister for Health and Children the situation in relation to decision making in the Midland Health Board in view of his decision to abolish health boards from June 2004; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11519/04]
View answerThe health service reform programme provides for the modernisation of the health service and the achievement of the goals and objectives of the national health strategy, Quality and Fairness: A Health System for You. The Health (Amendment) Bill 2004, which was published on 16 April 2004, represents a further phase in the implementation of the reform programme. It provides for the termination of office of the members of the seven health boards, the Eastern Regional Health Authority and its three area health boards. The Bill also assigns the functions, which are currently carried out by the members of the boards or authority to their chief executive officers or the Minister, as appropriate. The Bill is an interim measure and is currently before the Houses of the Oireachtas.
In addition, it is my intention to publish a second Bill later in the year to provide for the establishment of the health service executive, HSE, and the health information and quality authority, HIQA, on a statutory basis. This further legislation will also provide the legislative basis for other aspects of the reform programme such as improved governance and accountability, planning and monitoring and evaluation. My intention is to have this legislation introduced by December 2004 so as to have the health services executive in place in January 2005.
Paul McGrath
Question:566 Mr. P. McGrath asked the Minister for Health and Children if, in view of the fact that certain middle management personnel in the Midland Health Board have been seconded to the new Health Authority, their positions will be filled in the interim period; and the method by which these positions will be filled. [11520/04]
View answerResponsibility for staffing matters rests in this instance with the Midland Health Board. My Department has therefore asked the chief executive officer of the board to investigate the matters raised by the Deputy and reply to him directly.