Niall Collins (Limerick West, Fianna Fail)

I am grateful to have the opportunity to contribute and I hope to lift the mood somewhat given what we have listened to. While most discussions in the Chamber on the health service are tainted with a very negative tone, it is not all doom and gloom within the service. That negative tone impacts on the very many fine people who work within the health service, the HSE and the Department of Health and Children, who are committed to their jobs, take them seriously and do the best they can in the circumstances. My local hospital, the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Limerick, treats more than 30,000 inpatients, caters for more than 120,000 outpatient attendances, 55,000 accident and emergency attendances and more than 4,000 deliveries in the regional maternity hospital on an annual basis. That is a significant throughout and there is a high level of service delivery by the medical, nursing and clerical staff and everybody else associated with the health services in the mid-western region. That acknowledgement is important because such points may not come through in debates like this. Likewise, it is not fair comment to say the Minister for Health and Children does not care. That was an unwarranted, personalised remark. It is not fair to say that anybody in this House does not care. We are all here as public representatives to do our best for the people from whom we receive our mandate.

The Fine Gael motion refers to the number of patients on trolleys in accident and emergency departments earlier this month, an issue which attracted a great deal of news reportage at the beginning of the year. This issue should be examined by the Health Information and Quality Authority, HIQA. It is not acceptable in this day and age that a trade union organisation should be able to dominate the news agenda for two or three days by doing a trolley count around the country. That is not its purpose and not what it is constituted to do. Trade unions are mandated to represent their members' views, and this particular union is not placed to carry out a trolley count. If we are going to have a debate on the numbers of people who are on trollys awaiting admission, the figures should be verified by an independent body such as HIQA. That is far preferable to the circus we have seen with the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation doing a whistle-stop tour around the country and being facilitated in that by news organisations. That is not right and proper in this day and age.

Clearly there are areas within the health sector where we would like to see an improved roll-out and delivery of services. For example, the provision of primary care teams must be advanced in a more speedy fashion. I understand 11 teams have been establish in Limerick city and county, with another five or six in the pipeline. If we can get the primary care teams up and running more quickly, that will take the pressure off the admission processes within accident and emergency departments. That is where the focus should be. The targets set by the Health Service Executive in this regard had been lagging behind slightly.

I would also like to see the progression of the co-location facility at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Limerick. It was interesting to note the observation by the chief executive officer of VHI in the debate on recent price increases that a private bed is cheaper in a private hospital than in a public hospital. That anomaly must be addressed.

Other parties have their own policies in regard to how they would like to see health services delivered. Ultimately, however, whether it is the policy of the Labour Party, Fine Gael or Fianna Fáil that is implemented, the provision of health care is costly. Those costs can be collected by direct charges or direct taxation, but services cannot be delivered for free. We must dispel the notion that a universal social health care system or some other policy initiative will deliver free health care for all. No such mechanism exists.

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