Emergency departments (EDs) in a number of hospitals around the country are failing to meet national standards due to overcrowding, the Oireachtas Health Committee has been told.
The Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) is appearing before the committee on Wednesday to answer questions on its 2022 annual report.
In her opening statement to the committee, Hiqa chief executive Angela Fitzgerald said some of the hospitals concerned are further ahead in addressing overcrowding.
She added the key characteristics in these hospitals tackling overcrowding included having adequate capacity; implementing effective systems and processes for managing demand, patient flow and overall resources; and good internal systems for measuring and evaluating performance.
Ms Fitzgerald told the committee that Hiqa's remit includes evaluating the clinical and cost-effectiveness of health technologies, advising the Minster for Health and the HSE on its findings.
Recent health technology assessments carried out by Hiqa include an expansion of the childhood immunisation schedule to include varicella vaccination, metabolic surgery for people with Type 2 diabetes and obesity, and the repatriation of paediatric haematopoietic stem cell transplant services to Ireland.
Ms Fitzgerald noted this role of assessing health technologies played an important role during the Covid pandemic, supporting the work of the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet).
Concluding her opening statement, Ms Fitzgerald told the committee "a vital theme through all the work we do is taking a human rights-based approach", adding that over 34,000 people completed Hiqa's human rights-based approach modules last year.
She said the pandemic has "provided an opportunity to reflect on our learnings and question how we care for people", adding: "We have been working hard in 2023 to ensure that Hiqa continues to drive positive change and improvement in Ireland’s health and social care services."
