Mr. Martin Varley:

We sought meetings with the Minister on numerous occasions. Our last meeting was in early March. He agreed to meet us and to speak at our conference in mid-September. He wrote with his apologies that he could not attend that meeting and committed to meet us in the following week or so. Despite numerous calls to his private secretary, I got no response to engage. That has been the pattern and not just in recent months. When one is trying to come to the table with solutions and to engage, it becomes quite frustrating and difficult for people who are trying to deliver care in difficult circumstances on the front line.

There was a question of what we are doing with our Care Can't Wait campaign, which I will get to. A number of months ago, when we met the Minister, we determined that an avalanche of problems were brought to our attention that we had to highlight relating to the difficulties in delivering timely, quality care to patients. We touched on some of them today. For example, in University Hospital Limerick, six whole-time pathology post are approved. There has been failure to fill one third of those posts over the last seven years, having been advertised repeatedly, and it is causing major problems in timely diagnostics. It is also jeopardising the post mortem service, which people like to see delivered in a short time for all the obvious reasons. That is now hanging by a thread and has been for the last number of months.

I watched the committee's earlier engagement with the Medical Council and the Deputy asked a pertinent question for which I do not think it had an answer. He asked if the shortage of consultants and the overstretched nature of work in hospitals is giving rise to increased claims. I checked the situation vis-à-visthe State Claims Agency and clinical claims. In 2010, there were 1,935 active claims. Last year, which is the most recent year we have statistics for, there were 3,196, a 65% increase in less than a decade. That is indicative of what we think is happening and we know why it is happening. Patients rightly have an expectation to get timely, quality care. When 1 million people are on a waiting list, that does not happen. People arrive and their treatment is effective insofar as it can be, but it is too late in some cases. Patients have a reason then to feel short-changed. I would if I was in their situation and I certainly hope that I am never in that situation. To be left on a waiting list not knowing how serious is one's problem is not good. It does not help with having a good flow and effective treatment of patients in hospitals, and makes their stay longer.

There is significant frustration with the system. Two cardiology posts have been advertised in Kerry and are unfilled. One locum is in position. One geriatrician post has been advertised but the hospital has not been able to recruit for it. There is a vacant obstetric post filled by a locum. A radiology post has been advertised numerous times and cannot be filled. A half-time haematology post is vacant. A histopathology post has been transferred to Cork University Hospital. We have major recruitment problems and there is a knock-on effect for patients and stress for doctors and consultants. The Care Can't Wait campaign is about ventilating the real problem.