Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 21 November 2013
217. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health with regard to the nine smaller hospitals which are to be model 2 hospitals, if he will provide in tabular form for each hospital a list of services that are currently available in those hospitals that will will no longer be available when the framework is put in place; the timeline for these changes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49936/13]
View answerThe Report on the Establishment of Hospital Groups, which I launched on 14 May, is the most fundamental reform of the Irish acute hospital system in decades. The introduction of hospital groups will provide for organisational change in the first instance, giving more autonomy and better enabling the reorganisation of services in a well-planned manner. Over time, this will help to improve services and deliver better outcomes for patients. The Smaller Hospitals Framework, which will be implemented in the context of hospital groups, defines the role of smaller hospitals and outlines in detail the wide range of services that can be provided within the smaller hospital and that can be transferred from the larger to smaller hospitals within hospital groups.
The reforms outlined above can be expected to result in change at most if not all hospitals across all Groups. All hospitals will play a significant role in their groups in providing sustainable, safe and effective care at the appropriate level of complexity. The provision of services at all hospitals will be examined in the context of strategic plans to be developed by each hospital group. These plans will be prepared in the context of an overarching policy framework to be developed by my Department, and their preparation will afford an opportunity for all hospitals in each group to work together to address the opportunities and challenges of service reorganisation.
