Donna McGettigan (Clare, Sinn Fein)

When the witness says that clinical services would be needed if it was a model 3 hospital, does he not think the whole point of a hospital is to save lives? Yet, there is a fear out there. I am not saying that people are saying, "I do not want to go in there", as my colleague referenced earlier. People are genuinely afraid to go into a hospital. It is about saving lives. Should we not be sitting there thinking we need them to save lives? This is a moral issue. The model 3 hospital is a necessity. We are the only area that does not have one.

Do the witnesses not think that the 2009 decision was a disaster? It has been a disaster for the area. The figure being thrown out that is 439 people have died on trolleys in UHL. That is an astounding, incredible number of people. They may have died from natural causes, etc., but I just do not get that A, B and C have been proposed but there does not seem to be a massive push on C for the people of the mid-west. People way out in Carrigaholt cannot get an ambulance so the critical time is missing there. They cannot even get into UHL. We need to be very clear on this. I am not getting that from the witnesses. I think the HSE should be here to answer these questions, to be honest.