Sean Fleming
Question:178. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Health her plans to develop a network of rapid outpatient clinics; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28357/26]
View answerTuesday, 21 April 2026
Questions (178)
Written answers
The Government is fully committed to increasing elective-only day-case capacity through the Elective Ambulatory Care Programme. This is being delivered in two phases: a national network of Surgical Hubs in the first instance to meet medium-term demand and capacity, and then a national network of Elective Treatment Centres, also known as Elective Hospitals, in Galway, Cork and Dublin. These new ‘elective-only’ facilities are for day-case patients, they are not for acute or emergency care. Significant international evidence supports the separation of scheduled (elective) and non-scheduled (emergency) care, leading to improved care for all patients.
Two Surgical Hubs are already operational, at the Reeves Centre in Tallaght and Mount Carmel Hub in South Dublin. A further five hubs are expected to open this year in Limerick, Swords, Galway, Cork and Waterford. Plans are also in development for Surgical Hubs in Letterkenny and Sligo.
The Hubs will comprise operating theatres, procedure rooms, consultation and assessment rooms, recovery bays and functional support space. They will improve access to day surgery in multiple surgical specialties for large numbers of routine day case patients, freeing up hospital capacity for more complex procedures and helping people get surgery sooner.
Alongside delivery of the Surgical Hubs, planning is underway through the Elective Care Programme for the new national Elective Treatment Centres (also known as Elective Hospitals). These are being developed to provide capacity to sufficiently meet the country’s longer term elective care capacity needs out to 2045 and beyond. Over the course of NDP 2026-2030, plans for the Elective Treatment Centres (Elective Hospitals) will be progressed through detailed design and statutory planning, with the ambition to progress these to shovel ready (and get construction underway).
Following detailed design, the HSE’s objective is to submit planning applications for both Cork and Galway Elective Treatment Centres in mid-2026, and get procurement underway. In relation to Dublin, demand modelling is underway, ahead of detailed design. This modelling includes an assessment of current and planned capacity/infrastructure and how it can be best utilised to meet future capacity needs.
These new facilities will not be regional-only, but rather as a comprehensive national network, with the new Surgical Hubs and the Elective Treatment Centres (Elective Hospitals) in Cork, Galway and Dublin providing national coverage and enabling delivery of care for all patients now and into the future.