Séamus Healy (Tipperary South, Workers and Unemployed Action Group)

While I cannot deal with the issue in two and a half minutes, I will simply say I am concerned by what I have heard today. I have dealt with the HSE and the previous Fianna Fáil-Green Party Government in recent years in regard to hospital reconfiguration. The terminology, phrases, sentences and words I have heard here today, such as "a new lease of life for local hospitals" and "no hospital will be closed but the services will change", are reminiscent of the Fianna Fáil-Green Government. It appears this represents the old centralisation and specialisation policy of the previous Government, and, although I hope I am proved wrong, I am concerned with what I have heard.

I agree with Deputies Charles Flanagan and Simon Harris, who said earlier that we should take on board the views of clinicians. In south Tipperary at present, the HSE and, it would appear, the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch proposes to close the acute psychiatric unit. To a man and woman, each clinician in the hospital, each GP in the county and each of the clinicians in the hospital to which the beds are supposed to be transferred, St. Luke's hospital in Kilkenny, are opposed to the closure of that acute psychiatric unit. I agree with the Deputies to whom I referred that we should take this on board.

I hope we are not going back to the centralisation and specialisation policy of the previous Government, which is not a soundly based, evidence based or patient centred policy. There is clear international, independent professional evidence which confirms that medium sized hospitals in the 200-bed to 400-bed range provide much better quality of service, value for money and access for patients and their families. General hospital services should be provided on that basis as close as possible to local communities.

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