John Halligan
Question:166. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Health when the framework on smaller hospitals report will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14351/13]
View answerWednesday, 20 March 2013
Questions (166, 168)
Richard Boyd Barrett
Question:168. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Health when the framework on smaller hospitals report will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14350/13]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 166 and 168 together.
I plan to publish, with Government approval, Securing the Future of Smaller Hospitals: A Framework for Development to offer clear information about the role of our smaller hospitals and what they will do in the future. While the Framework focusses in particular on the role of nine smaller hospitals - the names of which follow - which have been the subject of particular attention from the HIQA, the principles behind it will apply to all smaller hospitals, regardless of whether or not they are specifically referenced. The hospitals in question are: Dublin North East - Our Lady’s Hospital Navan and Louth County Hospital Dundalk; Dublin Mid-Leinster - St. Colmcille’s Loughlinstown; South - Mallow and Bantry; and West, - Ennis, Nenagh, St. John’s Limerick and Roscommon County Hospital.
In developing the framework to address the development of smaller hospitals, this Government is clear that:
- there is an important future role for smaller hospitals, in which they will provide services for more patients, not fewer
- no acute hospital will close, and
- safety issues in all acute hospitals, large or small, must be fully addressed, by providing the right type of service, for the right patient in the right setting.
This Framework will demonstrate clearly that the future of smaller hospitals is secure. It will set out what services can and should be delivered safely by these hospitals in the interest of better outcomes for patients.