64. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health when she will publish the review of specialist cardiac services; when she will publish a comprehensive cardiovascular health strategy; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10077/25]
Sentiment score: 0.09
Will the Minister outline when the national review of cardiac services conducted by Professor Nolan and his team will be published? I sat in a meeting in 2019, when Deputy Simon Harris was the Minister for Health, with Oireachtas Members from across the south-east and at that point, that review had been commissioned. Here we are, in 2025, and it still has not been published. It was sitting on the previous Minister’s desk for at least nine months. I got a commitment last year that this would be published very quickly - within a matter of weeks - yet it still has not been published. When will it be published?
Sentiment score: 0.08
The problem is that I have been told that on at least three occasions. I know the report was with the previous Minister for Health for most of last year. Deputy Carroll MacNeill is a new Minister coming in but there is continuity in that this report has been sitting on the Department's desk. It is not going to be the new national cardiovascular strategy because that strategy has to look at prevention, diagnosis and rehabilitation care, whereas this report was specifically set up to look at acute services and, as the Minister said, the regional cardiac networks. As the Minister knows, part of that is relevant to my constituency in the south east. We still do not have 24-7 emergency cardiac services. If people are unfortunate enough to have a heart attack at 9 p.m. or 10 p.m. on any day of the week or at the weekend in Waterford, their only option is to be sent by ambulance to Cork or Dublin. Obviously, and rightly so, there is a campaign for a full 24-7 cardiac service. This needs to be published as quickly as possible. The Minister has not answered the question as to why it has taken so long. The review was commissioned in 2019 and it is now 2025. It has been sitting on the Minister’s desk and we are now told again that it will be a number of weeks.
Sentiment score: -0.02
Both the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste previously said several times in this House that, in principle, they support 24-7 cardiac services for the south east. In fact, the current Taoiseach stood behind a banner essentially saying that his party would deliver the 24-7 cardiac service. I know that is going to require additional resources and additional consultants but we need a policy decision. I am asking Deputy Carroll MacNeill a straight question. She is now the Minister for Health. Is she committed in principle to a full, 24-7 cardiac service in the south-east? That is the first question. Second, it was stated in the programme for Government and also during the course of the election campaign that the Government is in favour of multi-annual funding for the health service. If we are in favour of multi-annual funding, then I hope the Minister will set out a very clear five-year strategy of ring-fenced funding for cardiovascular care and the many other national strategies that are needed to ensure that consistency and certainty of funding are there. Cardiac problems are the second biggest killer so this is very important. We have not had a strategy since 2019 and this report has been held up. The Minister said she will look at it. I accept that she is new in the role but there is an urgency here. I hope that when she comes back from the St. Patrick's Day visit, she will publish that report and move to the next stage of developing new strategies as quickly as possible.
Sentiment score: 0.19
I am aware of that.
Sentiment score: 0.00
66. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health if she has ensured that plans are in place to safely and appropriately staff the new children’s hospital to ensure there are no delays following handover from the contractor and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10078/25]
Sentiment score: 0.19
This question concerns the new national children's hospital and the preparedness of the State, the Government and CHI for what will be a decanting of staff from three hospitals into the new children's hospital. People want to be assured that the June deadline for completion will be met but also that the Minister and the Government are on top of the project, the contractor, the board and the handover because it is really important that we have as smooth a transition as possible from those three hospitals to the new hospital.
Sentiment score: 0.35
I very much hope it is a case of 15th time lucky regarding that commitment and we see it handed over in June. I have a letter from 12 surgeons who work in the department of paediatric surgery, which I raised previously with the Government. In it, they talk about how the national model of care for paediatric surgery clearly outlines the need for 17 paediatric surgeons by 2028. It goes on to say, "we are very concerned that the recommended workforce of 17 paediatric surgeons has not been included in either the definitive business case for the new Children's Hospital, nor in any of the estimates over the last few years". It went on to state that, "this repeated lack of engagement and commitment to address the concerns of the department of surgery has left us with no option but to refer the letter to you [and many others in the HSE]". Is that the case? We cannot have a situation where we have a state-of-the-art hospital but we do not have the paediatric surgeons needed. All of us in this House know about all the surgeries for children with scoliosis and spina bifida and many more that urgently need to be carried out so we need to be assured by the Minister that those 17 consultant surgical posts will be in place by 2028.
Sentiment score: 0.28
If we do not have enough paediatric surgeon consultants, it creates problems. The Minister knows we have the ongoing Nayagam review and the review by HIQA into the use of springs. There was a media report this week of an audit that was commenced in April of last year conducted by an NHS consultant on the back of very serious allegations made by whistleblowers, including that operations on children were being done purely for financial gain, that osteotomies in two of the three children's hospitals have now been suspended and that potentially there could be a recall of up to 561 children. Is that the case? Has she, as Minister for Health, investigated this? It is a very serious issue on top of all the other reviews which are ongoing and it feeds into the need for more consultants, more staff, proper training, proper oversight and proper accountability. I am alarmed that we have this report, which I have not heard Government respond to yet, that potentially operations which were unnecessary have been carried out on children. We need to be assured that this has been properly investigated. Has the Minister seen this audit report which has been published? Has she sought it? What action will the Government take on the back of the allegations which have been made?
Sentiment score: -0.01
If there is a draft report, the Minister should have seen it and she should be asking for it.
Sentiment score: 0.00