A special meeting of the HSE Performance and Delivery Committee was held on Tuesday 9 November 2021 at 5pm via video conference.
From: HSE Board
Published: November 2021
Updated: November 2024
Tim Hynes (Chair), Brendan Whelan, Fergus Finlay, Brendan Lenihan, Sarah Barry.
Sarah McLoughlin, Louis Flynn
Anne O’Connor (COO), Dean Sullivan (CSO), Stephen Mulvany (CFO), Marie Carroll (Planning Specialist), Philip Crowley (ND Strategy and Research), Stephanie O’ Keeffe (ND Integrated Operations & Planning), Dara Purcell (Secretary), Jaymie Crone.
The Committee Chair welcomed members to the meeting noting that the purpose of this meeting was to update the Committee on the National Service Plan (NSP) 2022.
No conflict of interest was declared.
The Chair invited the CSO to provide an overview of the draft NSP 2022 which had been circulated to the Committee prior to the meeting for review and consideration. The CSO informed the Committee that this first draft of the NSP takes account of the Letter of Determination (LOD) received on 2 November 2021 and is still a work in progress.
In line with legislative requirements the draft NSP sets out the type and volume of health and social care services to be provided by the HSE in 2022, in response to the funding made available and the level of staff to be deployed which are set out in the LOD.
The draft plan reflects the Statement of Priorities as set out by the Minister for Health in the LOD and it provides the framework for the implementation of all our strategic priorities and actions in 2022.
He outlined the priorities as set out by the Minister including tackling waiting lists and waiting times as well as progressing the National Maternity Strategy, the Model of Care for Gynaecology and the National Strategies in the areas of Cancer, Trauma, Dementia Care, Palliative Care and Paediatric Model of Care.
Also dealing with capacity issues by continuing the full rollout of acute and community bed developments as well as improving Mental Health Services by progressing CAMHS. The CFO briefed the Committee on some high-level financial areas within the draft NSP.
He noted that the focus since receipt of the LoD has been on closing out the financial underpinnings of all areas of care so as to inform a post-budget version of the service plan, fully supported by a detailed financial strategy. He noted significant engagement has been happening with the Department to agree budgetary parameters for all services and the full year 2023 funding commitments are still under consideration by the DoH. The HSE Service teams are also assessing and detailing financial risks and issues.
The Chair then invited Committee members to provide comments on the draft NSP. In response to questions from the Committee on the transfer of disability services to the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integrations and Youth (DCEDIY) the CSO confirmed that a Memorandum of Understanding will be put in place between both Departments to require mutual consultation in respect of disability services which will ensure a coordinated approach to promote integrated service delivery.
The HSE will have one National Service Plan which will include disability services. The Committee discussed the provisions in the draft NSP relating to waiting lists for scheduled care in hospitals and in emergency departments (ED), particularly for older people and those with more complex needs as well as the waiting lists for community-based services.
The COO noted that the provisions in the NSP are designed to progress the Sláintecare Implementation Strategy and Action Plan 2021-2023 to enhance and develop services across a range of key areas to include: establishing elective hospital facilities, building general and specialist bed capacity, improving patient flow through the hospital system from admission to discharge and transforming access to scheduled care services.
In response to Committee questions the CSO confirmed the implementation regional health areas (RHAs) is being addressed in the Service Plan.
The Committee noted that the NSP had over 400 actions at present and asked how the implementation will be monitored and reported during 2022.
The CSO confirmed a detailed process is underway between strategy, planning, operations and clinical colleagues, working closely with the BIU and Finance, to finalise target levels of performance and activity for 2022. Reporting on the implementation of the targets will be done through the Board Monthly Performance Report and the Board Strategic Scorecard Report which will provide the Board with a monthly report on progress against key programmes / priorities as well as highlighting issues relating to progress in a timely manner. The Committee discussed the aspects of the NSP that refer to ICT and E-Health.
The Committee noted the ICT Capital Plan will prepare for and invest to deal with risk and business continuity, particularly in ICT infrastructure and cyber security resilience. The ICT Capital Plan will be presented at the Committee meeting scheduled for 16 November 2021. The Committee also discussed the additional 43m agreed for the ICT Capital Plan as noted in the Letter of Determination and requested that a list of the projects that will be assigned to the additional funding be presented at the next Committee meeting.
The CSO thanked members for their comments which will be reflected in the next draft of the NSP and it was agreed the Committee will meet again on Tuesday 16 November to consider the next draft of the NSP 2022.
The Committee agreed that it will continue to hold other special meetings outside of its usual monthly meeting to provide the required oversight on NSP process in the coming weeks.
Date of Next Meeting: 16 November 2021.
The meeting concluded at 6:00pm.
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