Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister and Mr. O'Brien for attending this meeting and for briefing us on what is a serious issue. As they know, the Lourdes hospital in Drogheda in my constituency is one of those that the crisis has most affected. I welcome the fact that the situation is improving and the number of patients waiting on hospital trolleys is decreasing. I visited the accident and emergency department at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital on 7 January. To be honest, the situation was terrible. That said, I was hit by how the staff, particularly those on the front line, were working incredibly well. I did not hear one patient complain about them. They are performing brilliantly in difficult circumstances.

We need sustainable and long-term solutions. We in Louth have an immediate solution to the problem affecting Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital. On 7 January, I also visited the Louth County Hospital in Dundalk with its new manager, Ms Louise O'Hare. The hospital's accident and emergency department was closed in 2010 by the previous Government. That decision was a mistake. The problem facing us now in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital is a testament to this. I commend the Minister and Mr. O'Brien for facing problems head on and agree that we need real solutions to the overcrowding in the Lourdes hospital, for example, extending the opening hours of the minor injuries unit in Louth County Hospital, allowing ambulances to take patients directly to that unit, extending the supports available to home help systems and schemes and reinstating accident and emergency facilities in Louth County Hospital. On my recent visit to that hospital, some 40 patients out of 60 were waiting for the fair deal scheme. If we could accelerate that process, the situation would improve immediately. I would also make 40 additional beds available there.

Louth County Hospital was and is a brilliant facility, has fantastic potential and can be a sustainable solution to the overcrowding problem facing those of us in the north east. Some 120 clinics are being held every week. Will the Minister and Mr. O'Brien make me a commitment that full services, particularly accident and emergency services, will be reinstated in Louth County Hospital?