- Research will inform capital investment prioritisation through the new Strategic Healthcare Investment Framework in Ireland to ensure a strategic, effective and efficient approach is applied to public investment in health going forward
- An analysis of built healthcare infrastructure and healthcare service capacity is provided, with insights into the regional distribution of facilities and services.
The Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly TD and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Michael McGrath TD, published the fourth and fifth papers in the ‘Healthcare Capital Investment in Ireland’ series as part of the 2022 Spending Review process to improve the evidence base for policy decision making.
The aim of this work is to inform capital investment prioritisation through the new Strategic Healthcare Investment Framework in Ireland. This Framework, due to be published next month, will better align investment with the needs of the health system, the Climate Action Plan, the National Planning Framework, and National Development Plan.
- The research papers to be published provide an overview of acute and community beds, radiological equipment, and community-based healthcare practitioners by region, as well as an overview of the age, condition, quality, functional suitability and potential maintenance requirements of the healthcare portfolio.
- The papers identify differences in the use of healthcare infrastructure capacity by Regional Health Area (RHA) in a range of areas, informing considerations around the spread of planned investment in service capacity across a number of settings to ensure even access to care and its use.
- The analysis provided in the papers provides the groundwork for evidence informed prioritisation of infrastructure projects through the upcoming Strategic Healthcare Investment Framework (SHIF).
- Further analysis will be required in each case to determine the appropriate level of healthcare infrastructure by Regional Health Area taking account of factors including future demand, different population structures and the presence of national centres of excellence in some regions.
Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly T.D. welcomed the publication saying,
“Robust healthcare infrastructure facilitates best-in-class service delivery and remains a key priority for me and this Government. We have a planned investment portfolio of €5.7bn under the National Development Plan to 2025. Capital investment is a key enabler of reform, ensuring the right care is delivered in the right place at the right time. I am committed to achieving the maximum benefit to the health system from this expenditure while also delivering on our commitments under the Climate Action Plan and the National Planning Framework. For the first time these papers present a detailed understanding of healthcare infrastructure and capacity across the country. This will inform all future healthcare investment decisions under the new Strategic Investment Framework and is vital for the implementation of effective Regional Health Areas.”
These papers build on the initial papers in the Healthcare Capital Investment in Ireland series, and the subsequent Strategic Investment Framework will seek to ensure a strategic, effective and efficient approach is applied to public investment in Health going forward.