Paudge Connolly (Cavan-Monaghan, Independent)

I am sure the Tánaiste will agree that if we had taken on board the letter written by the consultants, we would not have had to endure the events of last Friday, which was a very sad day for the family of the late Mr. Patrick Walsh, who was admitted to Monaghan General Hospital on Thursday at 6 p.m. and died at 7 a.m. the following morning. We should not forget the other 16 deaths which have occurred since Monaghan General Hospital went off-call.

Does the Tánaiste agree that somebody is getting it wrong and that the people are not being listened to? Does she accept that the configuration of the health services preferred by the former chief executives is not working and is costing lives? It is not a case of whether another life will be lost but of when it will be lost. Does the Tánaiste agree that the letter of 15 September last, in which each of the consultant surgeons in the Cavan-Monaghan hospital group asked for on-call status be restored to Monaghan General Hospital for acute surgical emergencies, should have been dealt with as a matter of urgency? If the consultants' request had been accepted, Mr. Walsh's death could have been avoided.

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