Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 19 June 2012
665 Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Health if he or the Health Service Executive has any plans to upgrade the status of Letterkenny General Hospital, County Donegal, to regional status; if his attention has been drawn to the additional revenue this would bring to the hospital; and the estimated average cost per impatient who has to pay overnight to the HSE. [29687/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe HSE receives annual funding, from within which it agrees to deliver the targets for scheduled and unscheduled care in the Annual Service Plan. Cost containment plans are in place for hospitals and community services to bring their spending profiles in line with their allocations, as no additional funding is available for this year. There are limited financial resources available to the SDU and the NTPF, to assist individual hospitals with specific measures to achieve these targets.
The Programme for Government has a commitment to reforming hospital funding and to introducing a more transparent and efficient ‘money follows the patient' system. Work is continuing on the development of this, as part of the Universal Health Insurance System. The central element of the health reform programme is the establishment of hospital trusts as an important stepping stone towards the introduction of universal health insurance. I have already announced that hospital groups will be formed on a non statutory basis ahead of the formation of Independent Hospital Trusts. Letterkenny Hospital will be part of this process. Last week, I announced the appointment of Professor John R. Higgins to work with the Special Delivery Unit (SDU) in the role of Chair of a Strategic Board to assist the Department of Health in the design and establishment of Hospital Groups. As Chair, he will have a key role in progressing the creation of Hospital Groups initially and, ultimately, Independent Hospital Trusts.
The rationale behind the establishment of hospital groups and trusts is to support increased operational autonomy and accountability for hospital services in a way that will drive the optimum service reforms. Performance improvement must be at the heart of the national reform programme: the creation of hospital groups and trusts is integral to a stronger and more systematic process of performance management for hospitals. I have forwarded the queries on Letterkenny Hospital and on the in-patient costs to the HSE, which will respond directly to the Deputy in relation to those particular queries.
