Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 5 Apr 2000

Vol. 517 No. 4

Written Answers. - Hospital Services.

Bernard J. Durkan

Ceist:

93 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Health and Children his plans for the provision of a comprehensive and integrated hospital service to encompass ready access, the elimination of waiting lists and the provision of the necessary facilities to meet the current and future requirements having regard to demographic and other demands; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9943/00]

Minister for Health and Children (Mr. Martin)

The acute hospital system delivers a service that is ever growing in terms of its volume and complexity. The rapid pace of medical and technological change, growing expectations and an increasingly important focus on quality are notable features of the environment in which this service is delivered. More people are benefiting from services in our acute hospital system now than ever before.

I am very aware that the issue of access to these services for those who are not deemed to be an emergency or in immediate need of care remains a focus of dissatisfaction. The length of time that many people have to wait for access to elective procedures in many specialties is unacceptable.

The multi-faceted nature of the issue of waiting lists was considered by the expert review group which reported to my predecessor in 1998. I am currently reviewing progress to date in the implementation of the wide-ranging measures of a short, medium and longer-term nature recommended in that report. In attaching a serious priority to tackling lengthy waiting lists and times, I believe that there are a number of practical steps that can be taken to accelerate progress, including achieving more flexible use of available capacity and closer collaborative arrangements between the different parts of the system. In this context, a review of bed capacity is currently under way having regard to the trend in demands for health services in recent years. Taken together with longer term measures associated with the investment of resources available under the national development plan, my aim is to achieve real progress in addressing the underlying causes of poor accessibility to certain services. I intend to address these issues and am confident of achieving real progress in the area of waiting lists and more importantly waiting times.