Written Answers Nos. 219-229
219. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Health the reason he has not upgraded Letterkenny General Hospital, the seventh largest hospital in the State, from the status of general hospital up to regional hospital. [6012/14]
View answerAs the Deputy is aware, health services must be provided in a challenging environment of demographic changes, increased public expectations, and financial and regulatory pressures from national and international bodies. Consideration is now focused on how the Irish healthcare system should be reformed to meet these challenges. With regard to hospitals, a key component of these considerations is the Casemix Index (CMI), i.e. the types and volumes of activities which are carried out by each individual hospital. When the matter of the potential redesignation of Letterkenny General Hospital to Regional status was considered in 2013, the Department formed the view that such a redesignation would be inequitable, when compared to similar general hospitals with higher CMIs.
The formation of Irish acute hospitals into Hospital Groups, each with its own governance and management, provides an optimum opportunity for hospital services to be configured to deliver high-quality, safe patient care in a cost-effective manner. Each Group will be required to submit a strategic plan which will outline the group's plan for future services in the group area. The issue raised by the Deputy can be further considered in the context of the development of such a plan for the West/Northwest Hospital Group. Such consideration will also take into account the various infrastructural and service developments which have taken place at Letterkenny General Hospital following the flood of July 2013.
221. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Health if he will provide an assurance that the accident and emergency department of Letterkenny General Hospital will not have to close at any stage in the future or further divert emergency patients to other hospitals due to staff shortages. [6014/14]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy.
222. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Health the number of medical registrar training posts allocated by the RCPI to Letterkenny General Hospital; the way that allocation compares with other hospitals across the State. [6015/14]
View answer223. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Health the person who funds the medical registrar training posts at hospitals; the person who allocates them; and the way this allocation mirrors service provision. [6016/14]
View answer224. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Health the way the provision of training posts to hospitals affects those hospitals. [6017/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 222 to 224, inclusive, together.
Under the provisions of the Medical Practitioners Act 2007 it is the responsibility of the Health Service Executive (HSE), in co-operation with the medical training bodies and after consultation with the Higher Education Authority, to undertake appropriate medical workforce planning for the purpose of meeting specialist medical staffing and training needs of the health service on an ongoing basis, and to assess on an annual basis the number of intern training posts and the number and type of specialist medical training posts required by the health service. In this context, I have referred the Deputy's questions to the Executive for direct reply.
225. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Health his long-term plans for the urology service at Letterkenny General Hospital. [6018/14]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy.
