Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the witnesses and thank them for their comprehensive presentations. Many of the issues they raised this morning are ones I have highlighted over the past four years. In terms of some of the issues, it is like banging one's head against a stone wall. Dr. Coulter-Smith raised fact the number of consultants is 133. The Hanly report stated that over 170 consultants should be appointed. The Hanly report dates from 2003 but very little progress has been made. Dr. Coulter-Smith gave the figure of 133. I understand that whole-time equivalent consultants number 114. Therefore, we have moved from 93 consultants in 2003 to 114 and at the same time, we have had a significant increase in the number of deliveries and very little response from within the system as regards sanctioning additional posts. Even if one wanted to recruit an extra 20 consultants in the morning, what kind of difficulties would we face in trying to recruit that number of consultants in a short time period and what do we need to do to make it attractive for consultants to come back to Ireland to provide the service required?

The second issue follows on Deputy Ó Caoláin's issue in relation to inquiries. I also have a concern about that issue where there is a delay in dealing with inquiries. Is there a need to set up a better structure for dealing with inquiries than what we have at present because each hospital seems to be dealing with them on an individual basis rather than in a co-ordinated way? Should we have a set system in place for all of the hospitals because I am a little concerned about the delays? The immediate reaction of those involved is that there is a cover-up going on. The next step is litigation and then there are considerable complications thereafter.

The other issue I want to raise is about the coverage. Dr. Coulter-Smith referred to the amount of adverse coverage of the maternity services. In relation to the effects it has on staff in the maternity units, is there any back-up supports for the staff who have worked to the best of their ability in delivering the services? The focus is very much on the hospital and its staff when something goes wrong and that obviously has a knock-on effect on staff and on their performance. Is there enough backup support for staff where something goes wrong?

I recently came across a case where something went wrong. While it was no one's fault in real terms, the staff member wanted to resign the following morning. Someone had to sit down with them for three to four hours to try to talk them through it. It was an issue out of their control. Do our hospitals have enough support for the staff where an adverse outcome occurs?