Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)

On 9 August, when the Dáil was in recess, HIQA announced an investigation into ongoing services at Mallow General Hospital. Tonight I want to put forward the views of those I represent who have a particular interest in the investigation and who felt strongly that it was spurious and unnecessary.

The investigation was announced on the basis of a specific complaint about procedures from someone at the hospital. We now know that was not the case, and know there was no specific incident related to the treatment of a person. We also know the investigation arose from the fact that in April 2009, HIQA published the report of the investigation into the quality and safety or services in Ennis, that there would be recommendations arising from that, and that a report would follow for Mallow, which was a similar hospital but that had never been put forward by the HSE. It was on foot of that alone that HIQA decided to go into Mallow General Hospital.

The process at present is that HIQA has met representatives of the hospital and the staff and is continuing its investigations. The staff at the hospital operate in constrained circumstances and are punching above their weight. In June, after many years of campaigning, an executive management board was finally put in place. The hospital is under the auspices of CUH but for years it was left on its own, devoid of support from the larger hospital.

I will bet money that when the report is published, it will clearly show that the staff and personnel at the hospital have delivered, in spite of the HSE bearing down on them while refusing to put in place adequate funding. This report will vindicate the doctors, nurses and other staff in the hospital by showing they are in no way negligent and are doing more than they should to deliver services. It will also show that management structures were inadequate and the HSE never properly resourced the administrative function at the hospital, which led to inadequacies in terms of reporting procedures. It will also show that CUH never adequately recognised Mallow for the facility it is as part of its operation.

I want to point out that the staff support the hospital and maintain that services can be modified. They are willing to work with the HSE to achieve that and doctors, nurses and staff will buy into the change management process. We do not want to see a reduced service facility, however, or to see the hospital's capacity being sacrificed on the HSE's altar of cost efficiency. This is key because we will modify services but we must not reduce capacity. We can deliver the services within the hospital but we must be given the opportunity to do so.

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