Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the closure of wards at Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin. The decision to close the wards is totally misguided. The only outcome of the decision will be unnecessary pain and suffering for children, who will be put on the waiting list, and incredible stress for their parents. I am sure the Minister, like all other Members, has received the e-mails on this issue. If these e-mails are anything by which to judge, there is a huge level of anger and frustration. In my experience it is matched only by the reaction to the removal of the medical card from people over 70. There is huge annoyance at this decision on the part of parents not just in Dublin - as Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children is in my constituency I have a particular interest in it - but throughout the country, as the e-mails have made clear.

Closing the wards and reducing front line services make no sense. Over the past few years significant amounts of money have been invested in the hospital and various aspects of its service have been upgraded. What sense or logic is there in closing wards after recently investing substantially in the hospital? The consequence of closing the wards is that the sick children will either be forced into overcrowded wards or put on an extended waiting list, each of which is extremely unsatisfactory and most unfair.

The decision is yet another example of the right hand of the HSE not knowing what the left hand is doing. The HSE will probably argue that critically ill children will get the service and treatment they require. That is most welcome and one would hope nothing other than that would happen. However, it is not good enough for the small children and patients who suffer from illnesses such as scoliosis. I am sure all Members will have received e-mails on that issue as well. It is heart-rending to hear of the impact on and consequences for children if treatment is not put in place in a timely manner. Saying that critically ill children will get the treatment they need is another way of saying that many children who are ill will not get the treatment they require.

Everybody accepts that the HSE is facing serious budgetary problems but it is most inappropriate that the front line services being challenged are the ones that affect children. This should really be the last resort and not the first option, as it appears to be. The revelation today that the HSE spent almost €17 million on spin doctors and management consultants last year indicates that maintaining front line services falls well down on the list of priorities when allocating resources. The spend on public relations is totally unacceptable, particularly in the current climate and against a background of the closure of wards for the provision of services for sick children.

The details supplied by parents about the effects of the closure on their children are graphic and, in many cases, are clearly causing them huge distress. The fear factor alone is enough to prompt them to contact every Dáil Deputy to have the decision reversed. The loss of the service to the children is clearly the priority but there is also concern in my constituency about the secondary effect of job losses. This is also important, and people are very concerned about that risk. I urge the Minister for Health and Children to engage with Professor Drumm and the management of Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin, to reverse the decision. I will not list the possible areas where savings could be made, as there are many and it is not important now that these are identified. What is important is that the decision to close the wards is reversed straight away. The hospital must be given the go-ahead to reopen these wards and to provide for the sick children of this country.

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