Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

The Deputy will be aware that responsibility for the provision of services at Tralee General Hospital rests with the Southern Health Board in the first instance.

It is a feature of all acute hospital systems that some beds are out of use for short periods. Bed closures fluctuate over time and may arise for a variety of reasons such as staff leave and seasonal closures. Tralee General Hospital will close a 30 bed general ward from July to the end of September 2004. The Department of Health and Children understands that the seasonal closure of the ward in Tralee General Hospital will be similar to the seasonal closure of some beds that occurred in 2003. This seasonal closure will enable hospital management to co-ordinate annual leave for staff and thus reduce the level of locum cover needed while staff are on holiday.

The hospital prides itself on prioritising patient care and providing a high quality service. It has reported to the Department, for example, that when this ward closed last year, there were no delays in urgent or essential treatments. Staff rostered on this ward are assigned to other areas of the hospital during the temporary closure of beds.

The Department of Health and Children allocates funding on an annual basis to the Southern Health Board for the provision of health services. Distribution of this funding to individual hospitals in the region is a matter for the board. The haemodialysis unit in Tralee General Hospital has recently been extended. The unit now has ten dialysis stations and can cater for up to 40 patients. This greatly enhances the service available to renal patients at the hospital.

Increasing the bed capacity of the acute hospital system nationally is a key priority in improving access to acute services. More than 580 new beds have now been provided in hospitals throughout the country under the acute hospital bed capacity initiative. An additional investment of €1.7 million was provided to Tralee General Hospital to fund an additional 16 beds under this initiative. Approval has been given to the Southern Health Board for the appointment of a design team for the development of a new community nursing unit on the campus of Tralee General Hospital. This will represent an investment of €8.5 million when completed.

Base funding of €1.8 million has been provided in 2004 to Tralee General Hospital to progress the appointment of a number of permanent consultants who have been in place on a temporary basis for a number of years. These posts are in the specialities of obstetrics, general surgery, orthopaedics and anaesthetics. I am confident that the measures I have outlined and the additional investment in Tralee General Hospital is clear evidence of this Government's commitment to the further development of acute hospital facilities for the people of Kerry and throughout the country.

See this speech in context