Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)

I thank the Acting Chairman for allowing me to raise this important matter on the Adjournment. Pathways, which is a high quality rehabilitation centre set up in Cavan many years ago, is now closed to all intents and purposes. Some three weeks ago I received two different calls from families in County Cavan who raised questions regarding the future of this very important unit. In both cases, they pointed out the tremendous benefit resulting from the use of the centre by the family member in question. In one case the family was very worried about what would happen to their loved one if, or when, he needed to attend Pathways again.

I subsequently contacted senior executives of the HSE and was advised that there was a short-term staffing problem, but that there was no question of the service being removed and that I would be advised of progress by the middle of the following week. Of course, this did not occur, but by Friday of last week two County Monaghan families and a further County Cavan family made contact with me. One of the County Monaghan families were near neighbours whom I have known all my life. I was alarmed at the information I received.

Again, I contacted the HSE to be advised that everything was okay, that the ward was not closed and that those patients who were not in the Pathways ward were receiving the same service as if they had been. On Saturday evening, I visited the Lisdaran unit for the elderly, adjacent to Pathways and found several of the Pathways patients and their immediate families there. I subsequently walked to the Pathways unit and found four of the long-term patients from the Lisdaran unit who were not receiving Pathways-type treatment, but had been moved into it such that it did not seem empty. This meant the HSE personnel were telling the truth and that Pathways was not closed.

I spoke to several of the families who had clients or patients in the Pathways unit before they were removed. They were very worried about their family member who had been receiving treatment. In one case, a person had been in the Pathways unit for four weeks before the service was removed and the family had seen a lack of progress or worse in the patient in the two weeks subsequent and since he was no longer receiving Pathways-type treatment. The person in question is now in the Lisdaran unit. I emphasise that these individuals have no complaints regarding any of the nurses or staff in Lisdaran, other than the fact that they simply do not have enough personnel to give the necessary care and attention that patients in need of rehabilitation require and deserve.

In the past, treatment in the Pathways ward has allowed many people to return to their own homes needing little if any help. Other younger people recovering from accidents have been given a good future. The most worrying aspect of all is the failure of the HSE to plan for the staffing and retention of such a service in Cavan while, at the same time, promising publicly to restructure a brand new 25 bed ward in Monaghan General Hospital and to create a 13 bed rehabilitation unit there. If it cannot manage a six bed rehabilitation centre in Cavan, it is hard to see it getting started in Monaghan.

The people of Cavan and Monaghan deserve at least the truth and some honesty. Above all, we deserve a service and Pathways is one of those excellent services which has given new life to many people. Physiotherapists and speech support staff are still in place and available. However, without the proper personnel and backup for these people, Pathways, as such, is gone. I am sick, sore and tired of being advised by HSE personnel that it will all be sorted out in a week or so. This is not the case. I have been there in person and I have seen at first hand the situation, which is of great concern. I have consistently seen people admitted to the Pathways unit in recent years who were not initially able to walk and who left the unit on their own steam. I saw a young man there who had been in a bad accident and who was brought back to life again despite no hope of his admittance to the rehabilitation centre in Dún Laoghaire. Pathways is the only alternative we have to the Dún Laoghaire service. Will the Minister of State please ensure this valuable service is not taken away from us? Enough has been taken away already and we deserve better.

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