Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)

The only net saving from the closure of that unit for the month relates to the artificial body parts involved — the new hips and knee joints that would have been implanted. We all know that the people who now require those hips and knee joints will still require them in January, February and April. However, they must endure pain and suffering over the Christmas period and then wait in the ever-lengthening queues until that provision is made. In the meantime, I have no doubt many of these people will attend at accident and emergency units over the Christmas and New Year period. Where is the saving? Moreover, the National Treatment Purchase Fund is also getting paid for these operations.

Some 1,700 operations have been cancelled in Our Lady's Hospital in Navan in the past three years due to bed shortages. Up to eight operations per day have had to be cancelled at Cavan General Hospital and many patients requiring rehabilitation after serious accidents and-or major surgery are being denied admission to the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Dun Laoghaire because of the cutbacks. In other cases, we have the outrageous situation where expensive facilities in hospitals are not operational because of staffing caps applied by the Department and the Minister, which prevents additional people being employed to run them.

For example, in Waterford Regional Hospital, a brand new cardiac unit has been built at a cost of approximately €1.2 million and a consultant has been hired to head up the unit. However, the new unit, which is due to open in January 2008, will be left idle as the HSE is refusing to fund another €1.5 million to equip and staff it. Patients in the south-east region must continue travelling to Dublin or Cork for cardiac investigation and treatment. The unit is justified or it would not have been built in the first place, but it will just sit idle.

The accident and emergency ward at the Mercy Hospital in Cork is currently lying idle because of a dispute between the HSE and nurses over staffing levels. When questioned about this on a recent visit to Cork, the Minister's response was that solving the problem was not her area of responsibility. The Minister for Health and Children is not responsible for anything that happens in the HSE. We should have a motion of no confidence in the Minister every week until we get some movement.

See this speech in context