James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)

I move:

That Dáil Éireann:

noting the conclusions of the Teamwork-Howarth Review of Acute Hospital Services in HSE Mid-West which recommended:

that the current staff complement of three A&E consultants in Limerick must be upgraded to eight in order to allow for a consultant delivered service (which have not been advertised or implemented);

135 additional new acute inpatient beds (which are not in place);

an increase in the number of ambulances (which have not been delivered);

a high dependency unit in Limerick Regional Hospital (for which planning permission has not yet been sought); and

the necessary upgrade of the A&E unit in Limerick Regional Hospital (which has not taken place);

and considering that:

currently between 15 and 30 people are regularly on trolleys for durations in excess of 24 hours in Limerick Regional Hospital;

the putative cost in the original draft of the report was €380 million and apparently only €6 million is available to implement the changes;

local GPs in the area have expressed serious concerns about A&E cover and patient safety if this plan goes ahead; and

the implementation of the HSE Teamwork-Howarth report is unlikely to take place in the current economic climate;

calls on the Government to:

maintain current A&E services at Ennis and Nenagh hospitals; and

proceed with the planned upgrade of Ennis and Nenagh hospitals.

I propose to share time with Deputies Noonan, O'Donnell, Crawford and Connaughton.

See this speech in context