David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I want to be associated with the Chair's offer of condolences to the family of the late Vicky Phelan. I also want to commend all of the staff working in our hospitals and in community care and primary care. It is a big challenge at the moment. From talking to those who work in healthcare, they are rising to that challenge but it is a difficult job.

There are many challenges in our healthcare system. There has been a high volume of patients attending emergency departments and there are reasons for that. The waiting times are unacceptable, as the Minister acknowledged. However, there are some good news stories and examples of hospitals that seem to be performing better than others. I raise University Hospital Waterford not because it is in my constituency, but because it is a fact. The figures for October - it has been consistent for some time - show that it has a very high volume. I think per capitait was the highest volume in the State. It had the lowest waiting times in emergency departments and was able to reduce inpatient and outpatient waiting lists. If I am right, there has not been a patient on a hospital trolley in University Hospital Waterford since the middle of 2020. University Hospital Waterford is able to perform at that level and achieve that success, yet we have the crisis in Cork, Limerick and other hospitals in Dublin and elsewhere. I think Mr. McCallion visited University Hospital Waterford recently. Will he give his sense of what is happening in Waterford that is not happening elsewhere, that could be replicated?