HSE Performance Committee Meeting Minutes 15 July 2025

Committee Members Present

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

Apologies:

Pat Kirwan

HSE Executive Attendance:

Bernard Gloster (CEO), Patrick Lynch (ND Planning and Performance), Grace Rothwell (ND Access and Integration), Andy Phillips (REO South West), Kate Killeen White (REO Dublin Midlands), Sara Long (REO Dublin North East), TJ Dunford (AND Primary Care), Brian J Higgins (AND Adult Mental Health Services), Donan Kelly (AND Child and Youth Mental Health Services), Geraldine Crowley (AND Enhanced Community Care Programme), Anne Marie Hoey (CPO), Colm Henry (CCO), Deirdre McNamara (Director of Strategic Programme CCO Office), Aoife O’Donohue (AND Disability Services Transformation), 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.

2.1 Declarations of Interest

No conflicts of interest were declared.

2.2 Minutes

The Committee approved the minutes of 12 June 2025.

2.3 Action Log

The Committee noted the action log which was circulated in advance of the meeting.

The Committee considered the papers circulated in advance and advised that additional refinement would be beneficial to ensure they fully meet requirements. It was agreed that the item would be deferred to a future meeting and updated papers submitted for consideration.

4.1 National Performance Report (NPR)

The NPR (May 2025 Data) and accompanying briefing paper, which had been circulated in advance of the meeting, were noted. The May 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: Primary Care Therapies; Urgent Colonoscopy; Cancer Rapid Access Clinics; Screening Programmes; Serious Incident Reviews; Healthcare Acquired Infections [HCAIs]; Urgent and Emergency Care; Scheduled Care; CAMHs; Home support – Older persons; Disability Services; Human Resources; and Finance which were highlighted by the ND Planning and Performance.

In advance of the meeting, the Chair allocated each KPI in the NPR individually to Committee members for review with the intention of allowing a more focused discussion on areas most requiring attention. The Committee queried performance under individual metrics and discussed the structure of the NPR report, considering whether more commentary could be included for the KPIs. The ND Planning and Performance advised that this has been committed to and the format will be finalised over time.

The Committee noted the papers provided by the CCO in advance of the meeting which covered the QPS Patient Safety Protocol Report; Healthcare-associated C. difficile infections 2025 year to date (request from June Committee meeting); and the Maternity Quarterly Report.

The CCO advised that the QPS Patient Safety Protocol Report outlines the Patient Safety Protocol activity in June 2025. In relation to patient safety incidents, the Committee discussed what the appropriate communication channel between the CCO and the Committee should be and it was agreed that this would be raised with the Board Chair.

Regarding the Maternity Quarterly Report, the CCO confirmed that as part of his reporting to the Committee, a new maternity dashboard has been developed. The key metrics summarised in the report were: Births and Women Delivered; Caesarean Section Rates; Induction of Labour Rates; Perinatal Mortality; Adjusted Perinatal Mortality; and Therapeutic Hypothermia. The Committee discussed the challenges surrounding midwifery staffing levels, particularly in smaller hospitals.

6.1 CHI Commissioning

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] Integration, Commissioning and Operational Readiness Programme. The briefing updated the Committee specifically on a 2022 CHI Report which had been leaked to the media and actions taken as a result. The Committee discussed the culture challenges highlighted in the 2022 Report and highlighted that significant work will need to be undertaken to address this area.

The ND Planning and Performance advised that the Committee’s visit to the NCH, to include updates from the key clinical and operational management responsible for the commissioning, is confirmed and will go ahead on 24 July 2025.

6.2 Disabilities Report

The Committee noted the briefing on Disabilities Services provided by ND Access and Integration which had been circulated in advance of the meeting. The briefing provided an update on Assessment of Need; Children’s Disability Network Teams; Resourcing; Respite/Residential; Therapists in Special Schools; and Projected Improvements for next 2-3 years.

The AND Disability Services Transformation highlighted the need for technology to be used more effectively as an enabler in disabilities services, particularly in relation to data management. It was agreed that the Chair would meet with ND Access and Integration and AND Disability Services Transformation in advance of the next Committee meeting to discuss how the Committee will approach disability services going forward.

This item was deferred to the September meeting.

No matters arose under this item.

The meeting ended at 18:10.