Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 15 November 2017
63. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the improvements in maternity services in Portlaoise hospital since more staff were provided and that the unit is now being linked to networks within the Coombe university hospital; and his plans to use the same model to enhance and secure the future of the emergency department at Portlaoise hospital in view of same. [47981/17]
View answerThe most important issue in relation to consideration of services at the Midlands Regional Hospital Portlaoise is that patient safety and outcomes must come first. Reports on Portlaoise hospital in recent years have pointed to the need for reconfiguration of some services to ensure that patients are treated in the most appropriate setting by specialist staff that can safely meet their needs. Since 2014, the focus has been on supporting the hospital to develop and enhance management capability, implementing changes required to address clinical service deficiencies, and incorporating the hospital into the governance structures within the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group.
The Dublin Midlands Hospital Group has been working for some time on a draft plan for a new model of clinical service delivery at Portlaoise Hospital. A draft plan was submitted to my Department in December 2016. This draft report was reviewed in detail and was the subject of detailed engagement between Department officials and the HSE. Significant additional work was undertaken by the HSE on foot of this engagement resulting in a revised draft plan that was submitted to my Department in September 2017.
The report is currently under detailed consideration in my Department. Once there is an agreed position on the draft plan, it is intended that there will be further engagement with all interested parties, to ensure that the needs of patients, staff, the local and wider community are addressed. Any future changes to services at Portlaoise, will have to take account of existing patient flows and demands in other hospitals, as well as the need to develop particular services at Portlaoise in the context of the overall service configuration in the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group.
