Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 December 2022
8. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if he will put in place a new mechanism to fast-track the process for the design application for planning permission for the building of the new elective hospital for Cork, in view of the fact that over 12 months have already passed from the time the HSE made its submission to his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61133/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI thank the Minister for the announcement yesterday identifying the sites for the new elective hospitals in Cork and Galway. Is it possible to put in place a new mechanism to fast-track the process for the design, the application for planning and the building of new elective hospitals? This project, from the time the HSE lodged the documentation with the Department of Health, has already taken over 12 months for a decision to be made. I know it has to go through a process but from now on can that process be fast-tracked?
I thank the Deputy for the question. I was delighted yesterday to secure Government agreement on both those elective hospitals. I know Deputy Connolly has tabled a question on the Galway one.
It is worth spending a moment to reflect on what a difference these hospitals will make. The Cork hospital, which, as Deputy Burke will be aware, will be at Sarsfield Court, will have nine operating theatres, a number of outpatient clinics and a lot of diagnostics facilities. It will employ more than 300 staff. Critically, because it will be an elective hospital, patients and clinicians will know that when patients are scheduled, those surgeries, procedures, appointments and scans will happen and will not be pushed out by emergencies coming through the emergency department. There will be about 180,000 healthcare events in the hospital in any given year, about 44,000 day-case and minor operations, about 23,000 endoscopy procedures and about 76,000 outpatient diagnostics and treatments. That is equivalent to about 600 patients a day, every day, and will make a major difference.
The question Deputy Burke poses is exactly the one I have been posing. We are working on it and it has taken time to get to where we are now. Unfortunately, that is because of the public spending code. There are, I think, 17 steps involved. I was looking this up this morning in preparation for these questions. There are 15, 16 or 17 steps. It takes a very long time. We know this was put in place after the national children's hospital cost overrun in order that we could manage the risks in respect of cost. The plan is that we would have the two hospitals in Cork and Galway open with patients in them by the end of 2027, five years from now. As part of the agreement yesterday, I have requested, and the Government has agreed, that my Department and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform work together to find additional opportunities to speed the process up.
I very much welcome the decision. The Cork site is the right one. The fact that it is over 100 acres means that even if it is started with a small step, there can be expansion in the next ten, 15 or 20 years. I therefore very much welcome the decision by the Minister and the Cabinet. However, the issues are how long it will take to get a design done, then go through the planning process and then go out for tender to get the builders in. It is important we try to speed this process up. It should be remembered that the population of the Cork area has gone up by 170,000 in the past 25 years. That is a huge increase without any increase in real terms in hospital facilities. That is the reason this issue needs to be prioritised and delivered at a very fast pace in order to cater for the demands on services in the area.
I fully agree. If we think through what is required now, while five years seems like a very long time, and, obviously, we would love these facilities to be in place tomorrow, tendering for detailed design, the detailed design itself, securing planning, tendering for construction, the construction itself and then commissioning, unfortunately, take quite a bit of time. One of the advantages we have on both sites is that it is our land and we are not looking to take private land with any complexities that might entail. Critically, as the Deputy said, one of the attractive features of this site is that we have an awful lot of room to expand. As he will be aware, what was agreed yesterday is phase 1, which is the day-case element. There is an agreement that the design will incorporate both phases, which would include an inpatient facility as well.
I welcome that, but there is also a need at a very early stage for the HSE to engage with the local community. Sometimes the way we do planning is such that incorrect information gets out. I ask that this be taken on board because I do not want any delay on this. It is important that we work with the local community in Glanmire as well. There has been a huge increase in population in the area and it is important there is that engagement. However, we must fast-track this project for the benefit not only of all people in Cork but also everyone in Munster.
I fully agree. I will add two points to that.
The other thing we secured agreement on yesterday was five new surgical hubs. These are based on the Reeves day surgery centre in Tallaght hospital, which has been successful. It consists of four operating theatres for day cases only. It has not been fully open for two years, yet Tallaght hospital has seen a 58% reduction in its day case list over that period. Believe it or not, the number of patients waiting more than three months for day case surgery in Tallaght has fallen over 90% since the Reeves day surgery centre was opened. Cork will get one of these centres, as will Galway, Waterford and Limerick, and there will be a second one in Dublin. Critically, based on how long it took Tallaght, we believe we can have patients in these centres within 18 months, which will help.
A lot of extra investment is required in healthcare in Cork. A really nice investment in the Mercy hospital is coming on line, while Cork University Hospital has five large and important capital investment projects that we are looking to prioritise.
