Stagg Pushes For New Endoscopy Unit at Naas Hospital

Issued : Saturday 28 October, 2017
Areas : Naas

Following on from the Mid Term Capital Review which saw a further capital allocation of €471 Million for Health facilities, Kildare North Labour Representative Emmet Stagg raised with the Minister for Health the need to prioritise the New Endoscopy Unit at Naas General Hospital

The Minister advised Mr. Stagg that the new Capital Envelope announced in the context of Budget 2018 is being used by the HSE to revise the Capital Plan and also in preparing the National Service Plan for 2018. The Minister further advised that he was not in a position to say what projects will be funded next year.

Kildare North Labour Representative Emmet Stagg stated that he was shocked that the Minister would not state categorically that the New Endoscopy Unit would now receive capital funding because the Waiting List for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy at Naas General Hospital is scandalous, given the fact that the waiting list has grown from 1,380 people on 28th February, 2017 to 1,904 on 28th September, 2017, a 38% increase in 6 months.

The figures for Naas continue to be truly shocking stated Mr. Stagg:

* The Waiting List at Naas accounts for one tenth of the Waiting List Nationwide.

* The Waiting List 18 months and over at Naas is 63% of the State's Waiting List for 18 months and over.

* The Waiting List 15 months to 18 months at Naas is 55% of the State's Waiting List for 15 months to 18 months.

* The Waiting List 12 months to 15 months at Naas is 32% of the State's Waiting List for 12 months to 15 months.

What these Waiting Lists show stated Mr. Stagg is that the Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Service at Naas General Hospital has effectively collapsed and the Minister and the HSE don't seem to give a damn.

A Gastrointestinal Endoscopy is a minimally invasive procedure used to diagnose various conditions by close examination of internal organ and body structures and can detect polyps, tumors, crohns disease and importantly cancer.

Kildare North Labour Representative Emmet Stagg has again reiterated that two things must happen urgently. One the New Endoscopy Unit at Naas General Hospital must be given Capital Funding immediately. This will increase throughput by 50%. Secondly and more importantly additional sessions must be provided at Naas and Endoscopy's must be outsourced to private hospitals to try and get some grip on the Waiting List Crisis. Mr. Stagg concluded that he would continue to press for capital funding for the New Endoscopy Unit.

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19th SEPTEMBER, 2017 - Endoscopy Waiting List at Naas Hospital Scandalous - Stagg

Kildare North Labour Representative Emmet Stagg has described the Waiting List for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy at Naas General Hospital as scandalous, given the fact that the waiting list has grown from 1,380 people on 28th February, 2017 to 1,860 on 31st August, 2017, a 35% increase in 6 months.

The figures for Naas are truly shocking stated Mr. Stagg: 

* The Waiting List at Naas accounts for one tenth of the Waiting List Nationwide.

* The Waiting List 18 months and over at Naas is 66% of the State's Waiting List for 18 months and over.

* The Waiting List 15 months to 18 months at Naas is 55% of the State's Waiting List for 15 months to 18 months.

* The Waiting List 12 months to 15 months at Naas is 36% of the State's Waiting List for 12 months to 15 months.

What these Waiting Lists show stated Mr. Stagg is that the Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Service at Naas General Hospital has effectively collapsed and the Minister and the HSE don't seem to give a damn.

A Gastrointestinal Endoscopy is a minimally invasive procedure used to diagnose various conditions by close examination of internal organ and body structures and can detect polyps, tumors, crohns disease and importantly cancer.

Kildare North Labour Representative Emmet Stagg has started that two things must happen urgently. One the New Endoscopy Unit at Naas General Hospital must be given Capital Funding immediately. This will increase throughput by 50%. Secondly and more importantly additional sessions must be provided at Naas and Endoscopy's must be outsourced to private hospitals to try and get some grip on the Waiting List Crisis. Mr. Stagg concluded that he would raise the Waiting List scandal further with both the Minister for Health and the HSE.

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9th JUNE, 2017 - Stagg Critical of Harris Refusal to Prioritise New Endoscopy Unit for Naas General Hospital

Kildare North Labour Representative Emmet Stagg has criticised the Minister for Health's refusal to prioritise funding for the New Endoscopy Unit and other ancillary services at Naas General Hospital under the current mid-term review of the Capital Plan.

The Minister advised Mr. Stagg that the Department has forwarded its submission under the mid-term review of the capital programme to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.  The submission is based on the projected funding requirement arising from exiting commitments, strategies, demand led service needs and commitments contained in the Programme for Partnership Government.  At this stage in the process it is not proposed to specify the individual project details contained in the Department's submission.  
The Minister further stated to Mr. Stagg that as with all healthcare projects, including the New Endoscopy Unit at Naas, further investment in hospitals must be considered within the overall acute hospital sector infrastructure programme, the prioritised needs of the hospital groups and within the overall capital envelope available to the health service.  The HSE will continue to apply the available funding for infrastructure development in the most effective way possible to meet current and future needs, having regard to the level of commitments and the costs to completion already in place.

Criticising the Ministers response Kildare North Labour Representative Emmet Stagg started that the waiting list for an Endoscopy had risen at Naas General Hospital by 8% in two months, from 1,380 patients at 28/2/17 to 1,493 patients at 27/4/17. More worryingly the numbers waiting between 15 to 18 Months at Naas had risen from 3 patients to 72 patients in the corresponding period.  An Endoscopy is a minimally invasive procedure used to diagnose various conditions by close examination of internal organ and body structures and can detect polyps, tumors, crohns disease and importantly cancer.

In conclusion Kildare North Labour Representative Emmet Stagg stated that the provision of a New State of the Art Endoscopy Unit at Naas General Hospital was vital if we are to tackle the serious waiting list at the Hospital and he vowed to continue to press the Minister on this issue.

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1st APRIL, 2017 - Stagg Presses Harris on New Endoscopy Unit for Naas General Hospital

Kildare North Labour Representative Emmet Stagg has again raised the provision of capital funding for the new Endoscopy Unit at Naas General Hospital with the Minister for Health in view of the fact that 8% of all persons awaiting an Endoscopy in the State are on the waiting list at Naas which numbered 1,380 patients as of 28th February, 2017.

The Minister advised Mr. Stagg that €5 Million was dedicated to a waiting list initiative in December last with the aim of ensuring no patient would be waiting more than 18 months for a daycase procedure by 30th June, 2017. The Minister further advised Mr. Stagg that a separate Waiting List Action Plan aims to reduce the number of patients waiting more than 15 months by the end of October, 2017, with €10 Million in funding.

Specifically in relation to Naas the Minister stated that the Department of Health is working with the HSE and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to conduct a mid-term review of the capital programme. While the review will consider capacity requirements over the next decade or so, it will also have a short-term focus and determine how capital investment over the coming years can be best targeted, given the current pressures being experienced within our hospital services. Funding for the Endoscopy development in Naas will be considered in this context.

Commenting on the Ministers response Kildare North Labour Representative Emmet Stagg stated that the numbers on the waiting list at Naas for an Endoscopy were scandalous when compared with other comparable hospitals in Mullingar, Portlaoise and Tullamore, and nothing short of a new state of the art Endoscopy Unit is acceptable for Naas General Hospital and he vowed to continue to press the Minister for Capital Funding.

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10th MARCH, 2017 - Failure to Provide New Endoscopy Unit at Naas adding to Waiting Times

Kildare North Labour Representative Emmet Stagg has stated that the continued delay in providing the New Endoscopy Unit at Naas General Hospital is adding to waiting times for Endoscopy with the number waiting for an endoscopy in Naas standing at 1,380 patients as of 28th February, 2017.

Planning permission stated Mr. Stagg was granted for the New Endoscopy Unit on 22nd December, 2014 and despite repeated promises the project has stalled and will now have to await the Mid Term Review of the Capital Plan to see if funding will be provided.

Mr. Stagg stated that ‘Astoundingly 8% of people requiring an Endoscopy in the State are on the waiting list at Naas General Hospital. This is simply unacceptable. Looking at the waiting list at comparable hospitals elsewhere we can see how the Naas figure is so out of kilter with other hospitals:

Midland Regional Mullingar- Waiting List 191

Midland Regional Portlaoise - Waiting List 216

Midland Regional Tullamore - Waiting List 354

An Endoscopy is a minimally invasive procedure used to diagnose various conditions by close examination of internal organ and body structures and can detect polyps, tumors, crohns disease and importantly cancer.

Kildare North Labour Representative Emmet Stagg stated that the figures on the waiting list for Endoscopy at Naas General Hospital showed clearly that a new modern Endoscopy Unit was required. In fact the figures are so bad that in addition to the new unit, patients from Naas will have to be transferred to other hospitals to get down the numbers waiting. Mr. Stagg vowed to pressurise the Minister for Health for the new unit and action on waiting lists.

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15th FEBRUARY, 2017 - New Endoscopy Unit and Other Services at Naas Hospital Being Delayed

Kildare North Labour Representative Emmet Stagg has raised the issue of the delay in providing funding for the New Endoscopy Unit, New Physical Medicine Unit, New Physical Therapy Unit, New Oncology Services and Day procedure departments at Naas General Hospital with the Minister for Health Simon Harris T.D

The Minister advised Mr. Stagg that funding for the new endoscopy unit, new physical medicine, physical therapy, oncology services and day procedure departments at Naas General Hospital will be considered in the context of the future capital envelope for the health service and the overall priorities for future service development in the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group.  It is proposed that there will be a mid-term review of the State’s capital envelope, which will assess progress, review emerging pressures and demands.  It is expected that this mid-term review will be completed in 2017.

Criticising the delay in sanctioning funding for the project Mr. Stagg stated:

* Planning Permission for the New Endoscopy Unit and other services was granted on 22 December, 2014.

*Former Health Minister Leo Varadkar stated in response to a Dail Question on 21st January, 2015 that it was expected that project construction could commence in the second half of 2015.

* Former Health Minister Leo Varadkar stated in response to a Dail Question in October 2015 that the project was included in the Capital Plan and that the Government were keen to get it started and have the works under way sooner rather than later.

* Since October 2015 to date the Health Minister has stated that all projects including the Naas one are subject to review to ensure that the projects deliver value for money, including future proofing, which had resulted in a significant increase in the scope of the Naas project and as a consequence its estimated cost.

Now stated Mr. Stagg we are told that we have to wait until the Mid Term Review of the Capital Plan to see if the Naas Project can proceed.

This is simply not good enough stated Kildare North Labour Representative Emmet Stagg and he has vowed to continue to raise this matter with the Minister to get this project back on track.