Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 July 2021
1580. Deputy Patricia Ryan asked the Minister for Health the cost of delivering the Sláintecare commitment to invest in 32 community specialist hubs for older persons and persons living with chronic disease; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34353/21]
View answer1705. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Health the cost of delivering the Sláintecare commitment to invest in 32 community specialist hubs for older persons and persons living with chronic disease; the timeframe involved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34282/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 1580 and 1705 together.
In 2021, significant funding of €150 million was allocated to deliver a programme of Enhanced Community Care, a key component of which is the provision of Community Specialist Teams for the management of chronic disease and to support older people with complex needs.
Of the total €150 million, €45.5 million was allocated to establish Community Specialist Teams for Chronic Disease Management (CDM) and €18.1 million was allocated to establish Specialist Teams for Older Persons. This funding was intended to allow for the development of 36 teams in the first phase of the ECC rollout, 18 of which would support CDM and 18 of which would support older persons.
The ongoing impact of COVID and the disruption caused by the cyberattack on the HSE has delayed the full establishment of the teams, but work and recruitment is ongoing, and it is expected that they will be more fully established by year end. The remaining teams (28 in total) will be provisioned under the second phase of the ECC Programme.
This Parliamentary Question relates to an operational issue and is a matter for the HSE. However, members of the Oireachtas are advised that the HSE is currently unable to access the information to answer Parliamentary Questions due to the recent cyber-attack, which has required a temporary shut-down of HSE IT systems. The disruption to service is on-going, and the HSE is working hard to restore its IT capacity and resume normal services.
