Keith Swanick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will be very brief. In my professional experience it is important to highlight the good work done by many of the staff in the appointments sections of our hospitals on a daily basis. They are often on the receiving end of the wrath of patients and GPs who ring up looking for appointments. I think it needs to be put on the public record that they do a fantastic job.

The situation regarding general medical and surgical appointments around the country is not too bad. They are within an acceptable timeframe. However, certain subspecialties, like urology, neurosurgery and ear, nose and throat, ENT, are a joke. Last week I raised the case of Ms Angela Phelan, a lady who was put on an urgent waiting list to see a urologist in University Hospital Waterford. She received a letter saying that she would be seen in 65 months, which is five years. That is not acceptable. By definition, "urgent" means high priority. It means acute, it means critical and it means that we need immediate action. I am surprised that there is not a raft of medical-legal cases in this country from people who are dying and suffering on urgent waiting lists, not routine waiting lists. It is not acceptable. For example, a routine appointment in the urology service in University Hospital Waterford takes nine years. That is almost two Dáil terms. How can the HSE stand over this and what is it going to do about it? That is my first question.

The second question concerns the child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS. As a GP, I think it is becoming more and more difficult to access this service. GPs are being forced to jump through more hoops to get young people assessed. I have received letters and parents have approached me to say their child will not be assessed by CAMHS because after I send in the referral letter, the service rings the parents and says that the GP has not assessed this patient. I would not have referred the patient if I had not assessed them. Of course I assessed them. They are not even believing the referral letters they are getting from GP surgeries. That is not acceptable. I have been speaking out about this. I have spoken to the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Jim Daly, about this on numerous occasions. We need a 24-hour emergency access phone line for GPs to access CAMH services for vulnerable patients who are suicidal. It is a service that would not be abused and it is something that needs to be looked at.

My third point is that I want to follow on from what Deputy Kelly said with regard to modular units. They are an excellent idea and I seek an update on the modular unit proposed for Mayo University Hospital.

My final point is concerns community and district hospitals. What is the HSE's plan? Does it have a plan to develop these facilities? In my opinion, they facilitate discharges from acute hospitals and prevent admissions to them. Is there a specific plan for community and district hospitals? With regards to what Ms. Cowan said about GP contract negotiations, that is a myth. There are no negotiations. They are non-existent. Let us get that clear.