Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

The letter went on to point out:

The Society would like to draw the attention of the Committee to this policy of closure of adult ICU beds at a time when the population is expanding. DOHC has stated that the ratio of adult ICU beds to acute hospital beds is 2.2%. This is incorrect. The ratio is in fact1.6%, amongst the lowest in EU.

It goes on to point out to Deputy Moloney the crisis that this would inevitably precipitate. Is it not a fact that the problem is capacity and expert staff, neither of which is being addressed? The commitments into which the Ministers for Health and Children have entered since Deputy Cowen held that office have been neither honoured nor implemented. As a result, in our relatively affluent economy, people cannot receive health services of a quality they have a right to expect. People are acutely distressed as a result of their interaction, or that of their relatives, with the health services.

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