Health Services

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 October 2023

Tuesday, 10 October 2023

Questions (556)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

Question:

556. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Health if he will ask the HSE to include Donegal town as one of the locations for a surgical hub, due to its location between Sligo University Hospital and Letterkenny University Hospital and to support the ability of surgeons and consultants to work through the long waiting lists for surgical procedures at both hospitals and to deliver equality of access to healthcare for the people of the north-west. [44007/23]

Written answers

Minister for Health

The HSE is currently planning for the establishment of Surgical Hubs to assist in delivering elective care to patients across the country. These will be modelled on the successful Reeves Centre at Tallaght University Hospital which has significantly reduced waiting times for certain day-case procedures.

Planning by the HSE for the Surgical Hubs includes deliverables and timescales for the work, the proposed model of care, and an approach to completing the work.

As noted by the Government at its meeting on 7 December 2022 the HSE will work with hospital groups to progress these hubs in Cork, Limerick, Waterford, Galway and Dublin. On 26 May the site locations for these Hubs were announced, noting that there would be two in Dublin (North and South).