Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 20 November 2013
205. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health his plans for the provision of primary care centres to meet the needs identified in the Health Service Executive needs analysis carried out in 2012; the way he is prioritising the delivery of such centres by way of direct build, lease arrangement, and public/private partnership; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49718/13]
View answerThe development of primary care is central to the Government's objective to deliver a high quality, integrated and cost effective health system. The development of primary care centres, through a combination of public and private investment, will facilitate the delivery of multi-disciplinary primary health care.
In 2012 the HSE embarked on a prioritisation exercise for Primary Care Centres. However the prioritisation exercise is a dynamic exercise, constantly evolving to take account of changing circumstances including the feasibility of implementation.
It is the Government’s intention to develop as many primary care centres as possible using one of the following:
- direct build (by HSE);
- by way of leasing arrangements with the private sector;
- through Public Private Partnership.
Considerable progress has been made in the delivery of primary care centres and 34 centres have opened since May 2011.
Direct Build – In certain locations, the HSE will deliver primary care facilities either through refurbishment/extension of suitable properties or through new build. Since 2012, primary care infrastructure has been approved and is underway at 15 locations.
Operational lease - Significant progress has been achieved under this mechanism. Construction is underway at 5 locations and planning permission has been granted at an additional 23 locations.
PPPs - The Health Service Executive (HSE) is working with the National Development Finance Agency (NDFA) to progress Primary Care Centre Public Private Partnership. The NDFA as a centre of expertise will be responsible for the delivery of the Primary Care PPP programme on behalf of the HSE, including the management of the procurement phase and the provision of financial advice including a Value for Money assessment. It has been reviewing the processes involved in procurement of PPP projects with a view to streamlining the process and delivering projects more quickly.
The HSE and NDFA have completed an indicative Public Sector Benchmark (PSB) for the overall project. Considerable work on the project has been completed by the HSE and its appointed design teams and technical advisors. The HSE is in the process of lodging planning applications, details of which will be available on the relevant planning website.
It is expected that the NDFA will proceed to market with the PPP projects very shortly.
