Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate. I fully agree that an excellent service is provided by the acute rehabilitation unit in St. Ita's hospital. This service induces efficiency in the mid-west regional hospital by ensuring the level of beds available for the elderly in that hospital is accommodated by the service from the acute rehabilitation unit of St. Ita's in Newcastle West. This is now under threat. A reduction in the number of senior house officers means a lack of medical facilities which creates a difficulty for the service and for Dr. David Clynch and his support team and for transferring patients to the acute rehabilitation unit.

It is wrong that somebody should have to sign a disclaimer in order to receive this excellent service in Newcastle West. It is also unacceptable that people in the hinterland of Newcastle West, which includes most of my constituency, will now not have the services of the rehabilitation unit available locally. I have personal experience of a member of my family being in that unit and of the excellent service it provided in allowing people return to their communities as a result of rehabilitation without which they would have had to go into long-term care.

The absence of the required medical cover will create a situation in the medium term where this facility will probably be discontinued. This is not acceptable to us. Not providing the cover is false accounting because closing the unit will cost the HSE more in resources than keeping it open. Patient treatment in the mid-west will also cost more. Some 350 patients are transferred to the unit each year. We want to retain this excellent service and call on the Minister and HSE to ensure we do.

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