Seán Sherlock
Question:501. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Health the status of a new elective hospital location in Cork; and when the process of site selection will be completed. [42930/20]
View answerTuesday, 15 December 2020
Questions (501)
Written answers
The National Development Plan stated that, “New dedicated ambulatory elective only hospital facilities will be introduced in Dublin Galway and Cork. These facilities will provide high volume, low complexity procedures on a day and outpatient basis, together with a range of ambulatory diagnostic services. The high volume of demand for such services in these major urban centres is sufficient to justify the construction of dedicated ambulatory centres.”
The Elective Hospitals Oversight Group, chaired by Professor Frank Keane, has completed a Catchment Area Analysis within Dublin, Cork and Galway, within a national capacity context, but also within the catchments defined by the proposed Regional Health Areas, aimed at selected scopes of service. The work is progressing on time and in accordance with the agreed schedule.
The Oversight Group is completing the development of a high-level facilities spatial brief and order of magnitude costs which details the elective clustering of appropriate activities for each of the three facilities in Dublin, Cork and Galway. This will also include an output and facility specification, based on efficient and effective service delivery as part of the business case for the elective hospitals.
As per the Public Spending Code guidelines, the Preliminary Business Case is expected to be submitted in the near future.