Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill has appointed Sean O’Driscoll as Chair of the newly established Mid West Health Planning Board.
The board has been tasked with developing a long-term plan for healthcare services and infrastructure across Clare, Limerick and North Tipperary.
It will provide strategic direction and oversight in preparing a Mid West Service and Infrastructure Plan aimed at improving access to quality healthcare across the region while addressing ongoing pressures on University Hospital Limerick.
Announcing the appointment, Minister Carroll MacNeill said the people of the Mid West had waited too long for improved healthcare services and deserved high-quality care closer to home, regardless of where they live.
She said the purchase of the Raheen site earlier this year represented an important milestone, with the establishment of the Health Planning Board marking the next phase in delivering enhanced healthcare infrastructure for the region.
The Minister said Mr O’Driscoll brings significant commercial, research and infrastructure experience to the role, citing his recent work on the Accelerating Infrastructure Taskforce.
“I hope his appointment is a signal to the people of the region of just how seriously we are taking the development of healthcare services and infrastructure for them,” Minister Carroll MacNeill said.
“I am grateful to Sean for accepting this position, along with all members of the Board, he will undertake this work on a pro-bono basis.”
The board will comprise of senior Health Service Executive (HSE) leaders alongside experts in clinical care, service delivery, infrastructure, finance and enterprise. Patient and service-user representatives will also participate to ensure community needs and lived experience help shape future healthcare planning.
Among its key priorities will be examining how hospital, community, primary care and pre-hospital services can be better integrated across the Mid West.
It will also consider how more care can be delivered closer to patients’ homes, reduce pressure on UHL and determine how existing and future healthcare facilities can best work together across the region.
Minister of State for Older People Kieran O’Donnell welcomed Mr O’Driscoll’s appointment, describing it as an important step in implementing the Government’s response to the HIQA recommendations on urgent and emergency care in the Mid West.
He said the board would develop a roadmap to meet both the current and future healthcare needs of patients, families and staff, while identifying the additional capacity required across the region.
‘A positive step’
The Health Planning Board is expected to begin its work in September and will have nine months to complete the Mid West Service and Infrastructure Plan.
Following its publication, the HSE will prepare and implement a delivery plan based on the board’s recommendations.
Meanwhile, Friends of Ennis Hospital (FEH) has welcomed Mr O’Driscoll’s appointment, describing it as a positive step towards progressing healthcare infrastructure in the Mid West.
However, the group said several projects should proceed without waiting for the board’s long-term recommendations, including the planned delivery of additional inpatient beds and new operating theatres at Ennis Hospital.
FEH said these developments would increase healthcare capacity in the region while longer-term plans are being prepared.
The organisation also called for every opportunity to expand services that can be safely provided closer to home through Ennis Hospital, primary care centres across Co Clare and the existing outpatient facility on the Kilrush Road.