Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 21 July 2011
619 Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Health the steps he is taking to fulfil commitments given to the people of Roscommon in Dáil Éireann on 30 June 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21939/11]
View answerThe HSE plan implementing the changes to the Emergency Department at Roscommon County Hospital came into effect on 11 July. This saw the establishment of an Urgent Care Centre in place of the Emergency Department. Persons with acute or life threatening conditions such as heart attacks are being brought by ambulance to larger hospitals, such as Galway, with higher volumes of patients and better outcomes for such conditions.
The Urgent Care Centre operates from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week and is provided by non-consultant hospital doctors (NCHDs) with clinical governance provided by an Emergency Medicine Consultant at Galway. As part of the transitional arrangements for a four week period, an NCHD is also available at the Urgent Care Centre from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. supervised by an on call consultant.
An enhanced ambulance service has been put in place. During the day four ambulances staffed by paramedics are available while three are available at night. In addition there is a special Rapid Response Vehicle, staffed by an Advanced Paramedic on a 24/7 basis. An out of hours GP service is also in operation. A Medical Assessment Unit is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday. This is a medical admission pathway and accepts referrals from a range of sources, including General Practitioners. I was briefed on the plan by the HSE in advance of its implementation. The plan was necessitated by the serious patient safety concerns of the HSE and of the Health Information and Quality Authority in relation to the emergency service at Roscommon following the publication of the Authority's report on Mallow. This was compounded because of NCHD recruitment difficulties.
Roscommon Hospital has a clear future, and will continue to provide key services to the people of the area. I believe that smaller hospitals can and should provide as wide as possible a range of services, close to the local community. The key concern is that they are safe. I intend to prepare a framework for the development of smaller hospitals, which will set out how they will develop to reach their full true potential. This will specify what services are transferring to them, from the larger hospitals. Too often we have focused on what we are taking away rather than what we can add to services there.
All of this will be done with full regard to the safety issues highlighted by HIQA, in its reports on Ennis and Mallow Hospitals. When implemented, smaller hospitals will have vibrant role, doing more work — not less — and meeting as many as possible of the needs of their local community.
