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Hospital Waiting Lists

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 July 2020

Tuesday, 7 July 2020

Questions (804)

Thomas Gould

Question:

804. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Health the number of persons on a waiting list for elective surgery in the Bon Secours public hospital, Cork. [14273/20]

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Written answers

A major part of the Government's Action Plan in response to Covid-19 was to substantially increase the capacity of public healthcare facilities to cope with the anticipated additional demand. In order to urgently ramp up capacity for acute care facilities, an arrangement was made with the private hospitals to use their facilities as part of the public system on a temporary basis, to provide essential services. A Heads of Terms of Agreement between the HSE and the Private Hospitals was agreed at the end of March 2020 and all 18 of the acute private hospitals signed up to it. Under the arrangement, all patients in the private hospitals were treated as public patients and their treatment was prioritised based on clinical need.

The agreement was reviewed at the end of May and the Government decided that the existing arrangement should not be extended beyond the end of June. It has however mandated the HSE to negotiate a new arrangement with private hospitals which would provide the HSE with full access to private hospital capacity in the event of a surge of Covid-19 and separately with ongoing agreed access, to enable the HSE to meet essential and elective care needs.

The Department of Health does not have a role in the operational functions of private hospitals and as such cannot provide information relating to the waiting list of the Bon Secours Hospital, Cork.

Question No. 805 answered with Question No. 801.
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