Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 March 2015
686. Deputy Michael Conaghan asked the Minister for Health the number and which of the 43 recommendations (details supplied) submitted to the Health Service Executive in 2009 have been implemented; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11865/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe HSE commissioned Prospectus management consultancy in 2008 to undertake an independent review of the existing adult critical care provision and an assessment of the future requirements to the year 2020 thus enabling planning for a future model of critical care based on evidence. This review placed significant emphasis on international best practice and the application of these practices to existing service provision in Ireland.
The major deliverable of the review was a detailed report based on three key components: capacity and data, work practices, admission polices & related clinical issues. The report recommended that the number of critical care beds should increase from 289 to 579 over the period 2010 to 2020. It also recommended a model for the delivery of adult critical care that is underpinned by a network approach, whereby 'hub', 'spoke', and 'local' hospitals work together to provide the patient with safe and high quality critical care, in a timely manner. At the time of the 2008 report adult critical care services were provided in 37 hospitals (52 units) across the country including in a number of the smaller hospitals where beds were described as critical care beds but in practice treated low volumes of critical care patients.
The report recommendations have informed the work of the HSE critical care clinical programme which was subsequently established. In 2014 the National Clinical Programme for Critical Care designed and launched a 'hub-and-spoke' Model of Care for Adult Critical Care, which is a centralised critical care delivery model, designed to meet the complex needs of critically ill patients across the acute healthcare system. The Annual National Clinical Programme for Critical Care Capacity Census records adult critical care capacity i.e. the commissioned and actual critical care bed stock and critical care staff provided in critical care services in hospitals, and available to care for critically ill adult patients. There is now a more a co-ordinated approach to the planning and delivery of critical care, within and across hospital groups, with a focus on small hospitals managing routine urgent or planned care locally and more complex critical care managed in the larger hub hospitals where the relevant clinical critical care expertise can be provided.
In relation to the particular query regarding the implementation of the report recommendations, as this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and my officials will follow the matter up.
