HSE Performance Committee Meeting Minutes 12 June 2025

Committee Members Present

Brendan Whelan (Chair), Matt Walsh, Lily Collison and Kenneth Mealy.

Apologies

Tim Hynes.

HSE Executive Attendance

Tony Canavan (REO West North-West), Patrick Lynch (ND Planning and Performance), Joe Ryan (CRO), John Smith (AND Access and Integration), Anne Marie Hoey (Chief People Officer), Kate Killeen White (REO Dublin Midlands), Brian J Higgins (AND Adult Mental Health Services), Donan Kelly (AND Child and Youth Mental Health Services), Colm Henry (CCO), Deirdre McNamara (Director of Strategic Programme CCO Office), Ronan Buckley (CCO Office), Dara Purcell (Corporate Secretary), Niamh Drew (Deputy Corporate Secretary), Rebecca Kennedy (Office of the Board).

Minutes reflect the order in which items were considered and are numbered in accordance with the original agenda. All performance/activity data used in this document refers to the latest information available at the time.

The Committee held a private session to review the agenda, the relevant papers and approach to conducting the meeting.

1. Declarations of Interest

No conflicts of interest were declared.

2. Minutes

The Committee approved the minutes of 15 May 2025.

3. Matters for Noting

ARC Briefing Note re Acute Mental Health Unit (AMHU) CUH

The Committee noted the above paper and agreed to add this item to the July Committee meeting for discussion with the REO South West.

Briefing on NSP 2026 and Estimates

The Committee noted the above paper which had been circulated in advance of the meeting.

ND Planning and Performance and CRO joined the meeting

The CRO updated the Committee on the status of actions, in relation two risks that had higher ratings in Q1 2025 as requested by the Committee Chair. The risks were R001 Delivery of Care and R007 Cybersecurity. The Committee noted the actions as outlined in the documentation circulated in advance of the meeting and it was agreed that the CISO would be invited to a later meeting to update the Committee on Cyber Security.

CRO left the meeting

REO Dublin Midlands and REO West North-West joined the meeting

The ND Planning and Performance and REO Dublin Midlands provided a verbal update to the Committee on the New Children’s Hospital (NCH) and Children’s Health Ireland [CHI]. The briefing updated the Committee specifically on a formal Notice of Escalation issued from the HSE to CHI and a request for an assurance report issued from the HSE regarding NCH Clinical integration.

The REO Dublin Midlands confirmed that the Committee’s visit to the NCH, to include updates from the key clinical and operational management responsible for the commissioning, is currently being scheduled.

REO Dublin Midlands left the meeting

AND Access and Integration and CPO joined the meeting

1. National Performance Report (NPR)

The NPR (April 2025 Data) and accompanying briefing paper, which had been circulated in advance of the meeting, were noted. The April 2025 NPR presents the HSE’s performance through the four lenses of the Balanced Scorecard [Quality, Access, People, Money], against a subset of the KPIs contained in the National Service Plan [NSP] 2025.

The Committee noted the key metrics relating to: Screening Programmes; Serious Incident Reviews; Complaints Investigated; Healthcare Acquired Infections [HCAIs]; Urgent and Emergency Care; Scheduled Care; Urgent Colonoscopy; Cancer Rapid Access Clinics; Primary Care Therapies; CAMHs; Home support – Older persons; Disability Services; Human Resources; and Finance which were highlighted by the ND Planning and Performance.

The Committee discussed outsourcing and insourcing of Scheduled care and the sustainability of the current system, particularly its impact on building public capacity.

The Committee noted a paper submitted by the CPO in relation to Absence Management which had been circulated in advance of the meeting. The challenges around absence management were discussed and the importance of workplace culture in addressing high absenteeism was highlighted.

CPO left the meeting

2. Disabilities Report

This item was deferred to the July meeting due to late submission of papers.

1. Mental Health

AND Adult Mental Health Services and AND Child and Youth Mental Health Services joined the meeting

The Committee noted the briefing on mental health services provided by the ND Access and Integration which had been circulated in advance of the meeting. The briefing covered the following areas: Overview of Mental Health Services; Policy Landscape, Current service performance and priorities; Regulation and compliance; Challenges and enablers; and Service enhancements and clinical developments.

The Committee discussed in particular recurrent findings from the Mental Health Commission inspections and the HSE’s capital spend in Mental Health services. It was highlighted that in addition to inadequate capital funding for mental health facilities, growth in demand, recruitment and retention of staff, and a lack of suitable digital infrastructure are key challenges facing the mental health services.

The Committee agreed that the Chair would report to the Board a need to prioritise mental health service funding.

AND Adult Mental Health Services and AND Child and Youth Mental Health Services left the meeting

CCO, D McNamara and R Buckley joined the meeting

1. Clinical Commentary on the National Performance Report

The Q1 2025 CCO Clinical Commentary on the National Performance Report, which was circulated in advance of the meeting, was noted. The report provided a commentary on the key clinical elements of the National Performance Report (March Data) on metrics relating to: Public Health; National Screening Service; Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control; Urgent Colonoscopy; National Cancer Control Programme; and Mental Health.

The clinical commentary provided on each KPI in the report comprised of information on trajectory / trends, clinical risk, and action by the organisation to address. The Committee discussed the commentary and the data underpinning it and advised that it was a useful addition to the NPR data and provides valuable context. The CCO confirmed the next report will be provided at the September meeting of the Committee and more information can be provided if requested by the Committee.

2.1 Chief Clinical Officer report on Clinical Areas of Focus

The Committee noted the CCO report on Clinical Areas of Focus report provided by the CCO which had been circulated in advance of the meeting. The papers provided the Committee with updates on topical areas of focus under the CCO’s remit which included: Exceptional Management Interventions; Key clinical actions addressing opportunities for improvement; and Examples of good/exemplary clinical practice/services.

The Committee discussed Maternity Services in PUH, Hip Dysplasia Surgery in CHI and Use of Implantable Devices in CHI. It was agreed that the CCO would continue to provide the Committee with updates in these areas and engage with Committee members as required.

In relation to opportunities for improvement, the CCO outlined a proposal to establish a health economics unit in the Office of the CCO. This followed on from a discussion at the May Committee meeting and the Committee expressed support for such a unit’s development. The CCO also highlighted the work of the National Perioperative Patient Pathway Enhancement Programme as an example of good clinical practice.

2.2 Quarterly Quality & Patient Safety Report

The Committee noted the CCO report on Clinical Areas of Focus report provided by the CCO which had been circulated in advance of the meeting. The papers provided the Committee with a high-level overview of the National Quality and Patient Safety (NQPS) function; patient safety incidents reported via the National Incident Management System (NIMS) for Q1 2025; NQPS activity to address the Common Causes of Harm; and a Common Cause of Harm in Focus - Sepsis.

3. Briefing re connection between QPS mechanisms

The Committee noted the briefing on the connection between QPS mechanisms provided by the CCO which had been circulated in advance of the meeting. The briefing was requested by the Committee at its May meeting and set out the role and function of National Independent Review Panel (NIRP), Office of the Confidential Recipient (CR), National Open Disclosure Office and National Complaints Governance and Learning Team (NCGLT) and how they relate to each other in the HSE.

No matters arose under this item.

The meeting ended at 17:13.

Terms of Reference: Performance Committee