Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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There are particular challenges in the mid-west and I will not take away from that. Equally, the CEO of Beaumont Hospital could also point to particular challenges such as those involving older people. Every public hospital in the country is facing serious challenges for a variety of reasons. Some need more beds while others have poor infrastructure or difficulty attracting staff. They all experience demographic pressure. The Deputy has said it is not comparing apples with apples but that is how all in attendance and the media will report the figures as it suits. Several hospitals that, like other hospitals, face significant challenges are, according to the nursing union's figures, recording their lowest number of people on trolleys. I am not suggesting anyone should get excited or delighted about that because the number of patients on trolleys is extraordinarily and unacceptably high but there has been a huge effort in some hospitals, sometimes with extra resources and sometimes not, and very good results have been achieved.