As part of the Sláintecare vision for the future of healthcare in Ireland, in December 2021, Government committed to establishing new standalone national Elective Hospitals in Cork, Dublin and Galway. These will enable the delivery of high-quality and timely elective care services to address the known demographic changes to 2035 (up to a 40% increase in day-case surgeries) with significant additional service delivery capacity. The additional capacity to be provided by the overall Elective Hospitals Programme (in terms of procedures, treatments and diagnostics) is estimated to be 977,700 annually. Separating elective and non-elective care will further help to free up capacity in existing healthcare facilities to better address unscheduled care needs.
In December 2022, the Government approved the next stage of the Enhanced Provision of Elective Care Programme and progression of the development of new Elective Hospitals at proposed sites recommended to be brought forward into the planning phase in Cork (St Stephen's Hospital, Sarsfield Court) and Galway (Merlin Park University Hospital). A recommendation on Dublin will follow in due course.
Further information on the Elective Hospitals Programme is available in the Programme Overview and FAQ Documents.
Elective-only hospitals cater for high-volume, relatively low-acuity cases. The Elective Hospitals will be focused on providing Day case, GI Endoscopy, minor operations, outpatient treatment and outpatient diagnostics services.
Significant international evidence (including from Canada, the UK and many other European countries) supports the separation of emergency (unscheduled) and elective (scheduled) care in improving services for all patients. The separation of care can lead to fewer cancellations and delays for elective care caused by seasonal surges, localised outbreaks, and surges in emergency attendances. Reducing waiting times for elective cases can help to avoid patient conditions from deteriorating further while waiting for treatment. This will lead to better health outcomes and improved quality of life for those individuals being treated and their families.
The greater elective care capacity created will also release capacity in existing hospitals for non-elective and inpatient activity. Allowing the new Elective Hospitals to focus on elective-only treatment will mean better care for all patients.
The locations chosen for the new Elective Hospitals will allow for new facilities of a size and scale to implement a national elective care programme that will tackle waiting times on a national basis. The new facilities will be designed to maximise their capacity and in doing so will operate to cover as wide an area as possible, extending beyond existing and future health areas. This new delivery capability in the national Public Healthcare System will benefit the whole population, including those who do not fall within the immediate traditional geographical catchment.
The preferred sites for the new Elective Hospitals, recommended to be brought forward into the planning phase, are as follows:
- Cork : St Stephen’s Hospital, Sarsfield Court.
- Galway : Merlin Park, University Hospital.
- Dublin : to be confirmed in 2023.
The Oireachtas Committee on the Future of Healthcare Sláintecare Report (2017) articulated a new vision for healthcare in Ireland, including the provision of elective only hospitals, providing protected capacity for elective care. This approach has since been confirmed by policy documents and Government Decisions including the Health Service Capacity Review (2018), the Sláintecare Implementation Strategy (2018), the National Development Plan (2018), the Programme for Government (2020), the Sláintecare Implementation Strategy & Action Plan 2021-2023, and the Ireland 2040 National Planning Framework.
In December 2021, the Government approved the National Elective Ambulatory Strategy to implement a national strategy of elective ambulatory care and to progress capital investment proposals for the establishment and operation of dedicated elective hospitals in Cork, Galway, and Dublin. In December 2022, the Government approved Preliminary Business Cases for the Programme as a whole and for preferred sites in Cork and Galway.
In order to ensure that the right procedures, locations and sites are selected, and ultimately represent the best value for taxpayers’ money, careful planning and deliberation is required. The programme is therefore being developed in line with the Public Spending Code (PSC). The PSC ensures that capital investment decisions are underpinned by a clear policy rationale and that costs, risks, and mitigating actions are well developed and understood.
Preliminary business cases (PBCs) have been produced for the Elective Hospitals programme and the individual projects in Cork, Dublin and Galway. The Programme PBC provides the overall rationale for the programme and sets out high level expectations for what will be delivered. The individual Project-level business cases provide detailed considerations of available sites and the process to determine the recommended sites to be taken forward to the planning stage at each location.
The PBCs have undergone extensive internal and external assurance, as required by the PSC. This included detailed consideration by the Major Projects Advisory Group (MPAG). In December 2022, the Programme PBC as well as the project-level PBCs for Cork and Galway were approved by Government at Decision Gate 1 of the PSC. The Dublin PBC will be considered by Government in 2023 and published on this website following approval.
Further information on the Elective Hospitals Programme is available in the Programme Overview and FAQ Documents.
The Preliminary Business Cases (PBCs) are available to download at the following links. A Cover Note to the Cork and Galway PBCs is also available which outlines how they were updated following their review by MPAG.
Establishment Of The Elective Care Centre (ECC) In Cork Preliminary Business Case (PBC)
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