Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)

We wish to support the motion on the basis that the permutations of the HSE Teamwork-Howarth report for the delivery of care for people in the mid-west will have untold consequences for those who do not live in the region served by Limerick Regional Hospital. In addressing this motion I wish to speak specifically for the southern region, where the national service plan has been published. We have also recently received a document from the HSE stating that new efficiencies to the value of €80 million are sought in its operations. The Teamwork-Howarth report has not been published in the south. Having read the Fine Gael motion and the prescriptions of the Teamwork-Howarth report for the mid-west, I do not doubt that the delivery of services in the combined Munster region, as espoused in this document, will have a negative effect on hospitals in Nenagh, Ennis and Mallow. While I might be accused of being parochial, it is important to note that the hospital in Mallow is like those in Ennis and Mallow, and to address this as a Munster-wide issue.

There has been no politically accountable, coherent analysis of the HSE's proposals. This is the first time that the House has had an opportunity to properly debate their implications and it is happening on Opposition time. The Government should make time available to debate the issues adequately so that we can go through the implications of these proposals euro by euro, and hospital by hospital.

We have witnessed the erosion by stealth of services at the former county hospital in Mallow. A CT scanner was put in place a few years ago and became operational last year for approximately ten to 15 hours per week, but now runs for between four and six hours per week. Last week, we found out that the ear, nose and throat services will be taken away in one fell swoop. We have also been notified that no children under the age of 16 will be treated within the hospital and that the long-term plan is to replace the accident and emergency unit with a nurse-led minor injuries clinic.

The motion notes that between 15 and 30 people are regularly on trolleys for over 24 hours in Limerick Regional Hospital. If services in Mallow are further reduced the same will apply to Cork University Hospital. We in the Munster region are arguing for a re-think of the policy. Clinicians who advise me, and the 120 GPs who serve the hospital, say that there should be no diminution in services in Mallow general hospital until the HSE can guarantee that the services are available in Cork University Hospital. That is the logic of the argument being applied to Limerick Regional Hospital and to the hospitals in Nenagh and Ennis. There is a complete lack of foresight in the approach to this. Every time I raise the issue with the upper echelons of the HSE management in the southern region, I meet vague answers and lack of specifics.

I do not see how the Minister can dress up the service plan for the southern region as a configuration, or a reconfiguration, because it drives a coach and four through the services being delivered to the catchment areas of Mallow, Ennis and Nenagh. Those who reside in the catchment areas will have to travel further to get into Cork University Hospital and Limerick Regional which will force more people through a narrow bottleneck. The services and capacity do not exist within those hospitals. There is no logic in seeking to further downgrade the satellite hospitals that serve Cork University and Limerick Regional Hospitals. We want a proper debate on this and I ask that the Government make time available for it. I appreciate that Fine Gael raised this issue and we support it.

How much time do I have left?

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