Bernard Allen (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)

I congratulate the Irish Examiner on its courage in publishing the story on Monday and the journalist, Ms Claire O'Sullivan. Much of the content of Mr. Kelly's e-mail has been denied by senior management at CUH but since that denial the consultant group has stood by Mr. Kelly's report of systematic failures at the hospital and disagreed fundamentally with statements coming from the management at CUH. They are demanding a review of the management structures.

I have been an advocate of strong management boards in our acute hospitals and I advocated it during my time as a member of the southern health board. This proposal has been rejected by management and consultant representatives on a number of occasions. We are hearing two sides of the story but the patients' story is not being told. It is important that future developments include representatives of the patients on the management boards. CUH is a major hospital on an overcrowded site but is sucking in services from other hospitals, such as breast cancer services from the South Infirmary-Victoria University Hospital and cardiology services from the Mercy Hospital. The Minister for Health and Children has given the go-ahead to a private hospital on an overcrowded site.

Where is the Minister for Health and Children and why is she hiding from her responsibilities? Where is the required leadership? Going down a level from ministerial accountability, Professor Drumm visited Cork recently but failed to make a statement of clarification on any of the issues affecting health services in the Cork area. There is an agenda to downgrade the South Infirmary-Victoria University Hospital and the Mercy Hospital in favour of an overcrowded site at CUH. Bureaucrats are making decisions on balancing budgets rather than dealing with the needs of people. This is a scandal.

Another scandal is the advertisement by the Mercy Hospital of a 2,000 sq. ft. clinical space available in the hospital. Is this advertising the rental of St. Catherine's ward, which closed with the loss of 31 beds and which is due to reopen at the end of the year? Will we ever see St. Catherine's ward reopen in light of the recent advertisement seeking interested parties to take on the space? There is more happening in Cork than meets the eye. The Minister for Health and Children should come into the Chamber to tell those who represent the people of Cork what is happening. People protest in the streets because they are not getting answers. We should get answers in this House, otherwise we are failing those whom we represent.

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