Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and his colleagues and thank them for coming before the committee. The subject matter before us has gained a lot of attention, tragically in some cases, and I welcome the Minister's indications as to the developments that are taking place in the region. They are not before time but they are still welcome. The emphasis now has to be on making them happen and making the various targets come within reach of the people such that the people will know that help is at hand and that the system is looking after them.

Public confidence in the system is very important. When someone is referred to hospital for whatever reason, they are in the hands of the hospital or hospitals, as the case may be, and the health services. Small things may in themselves seem to be of little importance in the make-up of the general package that is called into play in such circumstances, but they all count. They all culminate in the delivery of the service to the general public that the general public have a right to aspire to, get and expect at all times. It is unfortunate that things that should have happened did not happen, but "unfortunate" is of very little consolation to the victims and their families. The Minister noted, although it goes without saying, that we have to be keenly aware of the hurt in the individual cases where something happened that should not have happened. It is absolutely essential that we have a root-and-branch examination, without blaming anybody in the aftermath but making sure we will not have the revisit these scenes, and it is possible to do that. What we have learned, albeit tragically in some cases, should not allow us to downgrade the entire system. We have to recover from it and try to determine not only that these unfortunate outcomes will not happen again but that we will do everything we can to prevent them happening again.

I am sure everyone around this table has dealt with tragic cases that should never have happened and that it was well within the capacity of the services to avert. Sepsis is one example that has arisen regularly and, unfortunately, it is still rampant. I recall at a meeting such as this one a few years ago being told sepsis was very rare nowadays, but that was wrong information and I knew it was wrong. It suited the occasion for somebody to say it is very rare nowadays, but it is not. In maternity hospitals, for example, where pregnant women's blood pressure is fluctuating and so on, it is a distinct possibility but it is easily averted provided the right decisions are taken by the appropriate people at the right time. Sepsis happens quickly, and the point of return comes very quickly. It is no use saying after the fact that if we had started ten minutes earlier and addressed the issue, that would have resolved it. That is not the case. Sepsis has to be identified and dealt with very quickly. We must ensure we alert all the services throughout the country to the fact there is such a problem as sepsis and that it is lethal. My grandfather on my mother's side died of a ruptured appendix many years ago. That is a small indication of what can happen, and it happened very quickly.

I welcome the proposals that are coming before us and I thank the Minister and his officials. I visited the hospital in Limerick some time ago. It has been common lately to build a hospital while the hospital is in full operation. That is difficult. It is a challenge for the staff of the hospital and the contractors who are doing the work as well. There are lessons to be learned, and I hope we learn them and put the knowledge we have gleaned to good use. Part and parcel of that is that we must reassure the public we have recognised the problems and are in a position to deal with them and that they will not happen again insofar as we can guarantee.

I have to go to another meeting now but I will be back.