Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 19 October 2022
263. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question Nos. 281 of 28 September 2022 and 682 of 11 October 2022, if he has reconsidered his position regarding creating an elective hospital for the mid-west given that his replies stated absolutely that no elective hospital is planned for the mid-west (details supplied). [52361/22]
View answerIn December 2021 the Government agreed, subject to the necessary approvals and requirements under the Public Spending Code being met, a new National Elective Ambulatory Care Strategy. We are developing additional capacity will be provided through dedicated, standalone Elective Hospitals in Cork, Galway and Dublin.
The locations chosen will allow for new facilities of a size and scale to implement a national elective care programme that will tackle waiting lists on a national basis. This means that the new facilities will be designed to maximise their capacity and in doing so will operate to cover as wide a catchment area as possible, extending beyond existing and future health areas including the mid-west.
The locations were also chosen in line with good practice which suggests that, in order to maximise economies of scale, dedicated, standalone elective centres should be “as big as is reasonably possible” to meet identified demand while providing appropriate population coverage. Locating the new facilities in Cork, Dublin and Galway will enable the provision of a national service while aiming to maximise the coverage of the ECCs as far as is reasonably possible. A central point of introducing these new facilities is not that they will only benefit the subset of the population that sit within their direct catchment but rather that the introduction of this new delivery capability into the Public Healthcare System will benefit the whole population, including those who do not fall within the immediate geographical catchment. It is envisaged that the Cork and Galway facilities combined will cater for up to 350,000 patients/procedures annually.
While the Government decision is very clear on strategic interventions to be progressed under the Electives Proposal, my officials, working with the HSE, are considering any and all proposals with a view to tackling our elective waiting lists across the country.
