Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Quinn for his report and presentation. I will go through a few matters because some members have touched on some of the issues that I wanted to raise.

Regarding the numbers in Portlaoise hospital, my understanding is that the number of deliveries in the hospital increased from approximately 1,000 a year to 2,300 over a short time period. Mr. Quinn referred in his report to the request for additional staff. To whom were those requests made? Mr. Quinn stated he received correspondence about it. Was there any increase in the number of staff in that time? I refer to nursing staff, medical staff and junior hospital doctors. What levels of increases were provided over that period and how was it responded to?

There is very much a focus on doctors and nurses, but one of my findings over the past 12 months is the number of administrative staff within the HSE who have ended up in jobs without ever having a job interview. Have we identified deficiencies in management across the board in this matter and is this one of the consequences of that process where staff end up in jobs without every going for a job interview? We will not promote a nurse up along the line without her going through a job interview, and we will not do it in the case of doctors, but are we doing so in the case of management? Has it arisen in reports HIQA has produced that there are serious deficiencies regarding the ability of management to make a judgment call and react to the needs of the staff who work on the front line, namely, the nursing and medical staff?

Recommendation 5 of the report is that the HSE "should ensure the appointment of a director of midwifery" in all the 19 units that do not have one. Has Mr. Quinn identified the number of units that do not have a director at this stage and have we set a timeline for them being appointed?

This issue needs to be examined.

The report found no evidence that the Health Service Executive nationally was proactively exercising meaningful oversight of the hospital. Who in the HSE is responsible at national level? One of the problems with it is the difficulty in identifying those with responsibility.

The report notes a failure to flag an increase in the number of claims in a particular area and an apparent absence of communication between the State Claims Agency and the HSE. Has HIQA recommended that the State Claims Agency address this issue at a senior level to ensure it will not happen again?

The third recommendation relates to the development of a national maternity services strategy. A report produced in 2003 set out the number of medical staff to be employed in maternity services. It recommended, for example, that the number of medical consultants in maternity services be increased to 190. The current figure is 104 whole-time equivalents.

None of the report's recommendations has been implemented. HIQA has produced another report. Will it also languish on a shelf? What mechanism is in place to ensure its recommendations will be implemented?