Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)

Policies change. The new paediatric facilities must provide for parents to stay with the children. Policies change in this area all the time.

Certainly I am told by many people at hospital level, and I know from patients, that there can be difficulties if there is open access. Confining visiting times to particular hours, if that is possible, is in everybody's interests.

Clearly we must do more about isolation facilities. They say the hospital of the future will have single rooms. One can imagine the cost, both in terms of the provision of hospitals of that kind and of the staff implications of such hospitals. I understand that will be the global norm a number of years from now for issues to do with infection and appropriate patient treatment. We are providing increased isolation facilities in new facilities being built and that must be the norm in new facilities.

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