Check Against Delivery
First of all, good morning everyone and I really want to thank Ian and Laura for the invitation to be here at this official opening. I also want to recognise my colleague, Minister for State at Cabinet, Finian McGrath who is responsible for Disability Affairs, but is also a local TD, a huge advocate for this hospital, in particular.
I also want to particularly acknowledge and recognise all of you here, who are patients of this unit, and also your families and the representative groups and I think this service is one positive example and a real proof positive example of how involving patients, in the design of a service makes all the difference. We have seen it with haemophilia, we have seen it in some other areas. We have also seen how wrong things go in healthcare when you don't involve patients and patients groups in the design and management of a service.
And I also want to say what a personal privilege it is to be here, having had a very small role in advancing this project during my term as Minister for Health, around 2014-2015. I also know we are joined by a lot of dedicated staff here from Beaumont. Staff from Beaumont and also Temple Street, as well as those from RCSI and Trinity College.
I particularly want to recognise Ken Mealy who is here as President of RCSI and we are indeed getting that legislation done, it will be done before June-July. I think we can all agree that the work that Professor Viani does and her team do, really is truly life changing. But it really is extraordinary.
It really has transformed the lives of people who were born into a life of silence and would have lived in a life of silence, had it not been for this technology. And this event therefore makes it really important milestone.
As you know, when Laura started this work and this programme, back in 1995, she had a vision for how emerging Cochlear Implant technology could change lives forever. And through highly sophisticated electronic devices, it is now possible to provide a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf or hard of hearing.
But I particularly am, on your behalf and on behalf of the government and the wider community, I really want to thank her for her determination, her vision and passion and also, Professor Viani's team as well. Because as somebody who works with a team, I know you are nothing without your team. You stand on their shoulders, and I really want to recognise all of you as well. Providing what is, an exemplary model of care for both adults and children with hearing loss and making sure that people can participate fully in our society and our economy. And above all, making sure that people don't feel left out.
Since 2013, as we know, children with hearing loss now routinely receive bilateral cochlear implants. As the scientific research shows, that it gives them a better and more continuous access to sound. And this makes a huge difference when it comes to speech and development. The technology for managing hearing loss, of all degrees, has undergone a transformation in recent years. And I believe will transform again. When you combine this with our universal newborn screening hearing programme for newborns who are now all screened for deafness, it means that children are identified much earlier with severe and profound hearing loss and can access a care pathway much more quickly.
We also know that adults who develop severe or profound deafness, can become socially isolated due to the difficulties and challenges in communication. And we know the effect that that can have on many areas of life. So, the impact for them is transformational too. And I think today, with this launch, we begin a new chapter in the story of how so many lives have been transformed by the National Hearing Implant and Research Centre. A programme that is already internationally well established. And now we will see in the future, how academic research in a purpose built facility can further improve quality of life for patients who have hearing loss. Through collaboration with other experts, it will be possible to test new ideas and to develop new approaches, building on the existing collaborations that you have with RCSI, with Trinity College, with Vanderbilt, and also other institutions.
Sadly, the Health Service, as we all know, really only ever gets in the news for the wrong reasons. Whether it is hospital overcrowding, waiting lists, patients waiting far too long to see specialists, or have operations they need. Or whether it is misdiagnosis and patient scandals. And those are all real problems and real challenges and we shouldn't seek to play them down in any way. However, I do think we should allow some space, especially on occasions like this, to recognise some of the many things that are actually very good about our public health service. And there is quite a lot.
We have a budget now of over €17billion, the largest budget for health that we have ever seen. We have a €10billion capital programme over the next 10 years to renew our buildings, our equipment, our ICT. As I speak, there are now three hospitals under construction in Ireland. You have heard an awful lot about a particular one recently, but there are three, not just the National Children's Hospital. And the satellite centre at Blanchardstown will open to patients this year. The main campus in 2023. But the new Forensic Mental Health Hospital in Portrane is under construction now. It will probably open next year, replacing the very Victorian facilities in Dundrum and the new National Rehab Hospital in Dun Laoghaire, is now well under construction, as well as new wings and new developments all over the country. The fourth one is on its way, the new Holles Street, the National Maternity Hospital due to go to tender later this year. There are now 120 primary care centres, now operational around the country. And we have a programme of investment in ICT and equipment. And I think particularly investment in ICT is a potential game changer in healthcare.
So, despite what people say, it is not a black hole. The money isn't all being well spent but most of it is being well spent. And that is evidenced by the fact that people live longer and healthier lives than ever before. More people survive cancer now than die from it and more people are surviving stroke and avoiding disability from stroke and heart attack than ever before. And a lot of that is down to the Thrombectomy Service in this particular hospital. People who would have been left paralysed by a stroke, now go back to a normal life within weeks. Which is a modern day miracle, if only we were able to see it for what it is.
And notwithstanding the many difficulties we have, waiting times for operations and procedures overall have now been falling for quite a number of months and with the extra bed capacity we are now back above 11,000 hospital beds in the country. The highest since 2009.
And whilst still too high, believe it or not the trolley count, this year so far, whether you use the HSE's numbers or the Nurses Union's numbers are at a five year low. Although that is varying from hospital to hospital, a really good improvement here in Beaumont. Very serious problems in Cork, Limerick and Galway for reasons that I don't yet fully understand. But certainly RCSI has done a phenomenal job, not just here in Beaumont but also in Drogheda and other places.
We have the Slainte Care implementation team now up and running. As you know, that is a ten year vision as to how we are going to bring about universal health care in Ireland based on need, rather than ability to pay, which will be free or affordable for all. Much speedier access to healthcare and a decisive shift towards prevention and primary care and community care. With much greater regional and local autonomy. It is for real. This month, just to give you a few small examples - prescription charges have gone down. For patients over 70 and also for those without medical cards. We have increased the income limit for GP visit cards by 10%. So more low income working families, who qualify for GP care and they can apply for that now. All things going to plan, we have a new nursing contract, which the Nursing Union has just recommended, which will involve pay increases for nurses.
We might be just about to agree this week, a new revised contract with our General Practitioners. Providing for a 40% increase in funding for General Practice over the next 3-4 years. In return for that, GPs taking on a much bigger role in managing chronic diseases and other matters as well. And we will have a new CEO for the HSE, and a new board taking office in the next few months. So, notwithstanding a lot of things that are going wrong, there are a lot of things that are going right too. But certainly, nothing can be achieved in our health service without the phenomenal work and dedication of our professional staff, across the Health Service and I particularly want to recognise all of you for that, today.
So, finally, before I finish, I just want to once again, pay tribute to Professor Viani and to all of you involved in the team. For the professional and life-changing work that you do and for the care that you provide for your patients. I just want to say that we really appreciate how you have been so determined to drive this service forward, in a way that has always been persistent but never impolite. And always willing to work with government as well as put pressure on us. And above all, I think what has been demonstrated here is how you can put together a really successful multidisciplinary team involving audiological scientists, speech and language therapists, teachers of the deaf, clinical psychologists, administrators and managers. A true multidisciplinary team. And a really good example for a lot of other services I think to emulate.
I also want to thank Temple Street and the other healthcare professionals across the country for their role in supporting this programme. And by advancing the science of cochlear implementation, I know that you will continue to transform the lives of our citizens who have hearing difficulties.
So, finally, well done and thank you again.