Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)

I thank the office of the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to speak on this issue, which is affecting a large number of people — many of them in my constituency — who are dependent on the availability of respite care in the excellent facility in Harold's Cross. I should point out it is not the palliative care unit that is affected, but the community respite unit.

The service provided is vital to the health and well-being of a large number of people, especially those in need of intensive physiotherapy. The closure of the 45 beds will have a severe impact on the people who were dependent on the service being available to them later this year. The service is to be closed for eight to ten weeks. Not only the people in the front line, the patients, but also the families will be affected by the closure. What the closure means is that the respite care that would normally have been available to patients will not be available for those eight weeks. As a result the families will have to provide constant care for their family member.

Unfortunately, once again it is the most vulnerable who will suffer on account of the loss of this service over the next eight weeks. Overall, up to 56 patients or 45 beds will be affected. Many of these patients are in constant pain as the unit affected deals particularly with patients with rheumatoid arthritis. These are the people who will be affected by the closure. I have had a number of phone calls since the closure was announced, from individuals affected or their families.

These people have pointed out that the amount of money that is to be saved on account of the closure is less than €1 million. This is a paltry saving in the eyes of those people who will lose out due to the closure. I understand the saving relates in particular to the cost of drugs and that the hospice can no longer provide these. It is also the case that this community unit must devote much of its time to fund raising. Despite its best efforts, there is a limit to the amount it can raise voluntarily. Therefore, it is dependent on HSE funding.

The service provided by the hospice is specific and extraordinarily effective for its patients. The outcome of the closure is that these patients will be left in limbo for the next eight weeks, while the hospice is endeavouring to ensure that the patients are provided with alternative placements. Unfortunately, this does not look optimistic. If it is the case that the patients could be accommodated in some other location, what is the point of moving them and closing this facility, since it would appear the shortfall has arisen because of the cost of drugs, not the bed spaces?

One lady to whom I spoke today told me how she depends on this service to give her some relief from her constant pain. Only last week her condition was exacerbated by a bad fall, making it now very difficult for her to get around. She had been looking forward to her two weeks respite care here, where she would be given excellent attention. All those to whom I have spoken have been highly complimentary of the service and the staff in the unit. The lady in question was shocked by the news that the service would not be available to her, particularly since she has had a fall that has made her condition even worse. It is unlikely she will get an alternative place before Christmas.

I urge the Minister to ensure that the money needed to keep this service open is found within the budget of the HSE. If necessary, the solution should be found through cuts in some area of the HSE service that does not affect frontline services.

See this speech in context