Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 13 February 2014
251. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Health to outline the action he is taking to ensure that all Health Information and Quality Authority report recommendations into Tallaght hospital are now implemented; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7301/14]
View answerThe responsibility for implementing the recommendations of the HIQA Report on Tallaght Hospital rests with the Chief Executive Officer of the hospital and the Director General the HSE, with oversight from my Department. In line with established HSE policy on the receipt and implementation of major reports, the HSE established an Implementation Oversight Group with appropriate chairmanship and membership to progress the Report’s recommendations relating to Tallaght hospital and nationally. The group has held meetings with the Health Information and Quality Authority on a number of occasions to report on progress achieved. As part of the public reporting process, in July 2013 the HSE posted an interim report on its progress to its website which can be accessed at www.hse.ie. Progress reported indicates the completion of early morning ward rounds, the application of the Manchester triage system and the robust review of waiting lists, which demonstrates strong local engagement in hospitals around these critical issues. The implementation of the National Early Warning Score has also added significantly to the care of patients. Some recommendations require continuous implementation and monitoring and these have been incorporated and mainstreamed into the overall work of the HSE.
There are a number of recommendations in the report – particularly in the area of national planning, accountability and oversight, where the Department of Health has a lead role. These recommendations are being considered and progressed in the context of the overall reform programme, as set out in Future Health: A Strategic Framework for Reform of the Health Service 2012-2015, the report on The Establishment of Hospital Groups as a transition to Independent Hospital Trusts, and the Integrated Reform Plan for the health sector.
