Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein)

While today's protests and the anger of people in Roscommon have brought the issue to a head, there has been mounting evidence of a crisis in accident and emergency departments. The problems have persisted for many years and they will not be solved by subjecting health services to more cutbacks.

Research published late last year found that only 13 of the 31 accident and emergency departments in the State were properly staffed because vacancies had not been filled. Enormous pressure was put on junior doctors to fill the gap. The long hours many of them had to work endangered their health as well as the health of their patients. While guarantees had been given that the accident and emergency department at Kerry General Hospital would be secure, the research found that its vacancy rate of 66% was the second highest in the State. The failure to fill necessary posts is imposing massive pressures on staff and impacts on the level of care provided for patients.

A report published by the Irish Association for Emergency Medicine criticised the dependence on junior doctors to staff accident and emergency wards and stated full-time staff needed to be appointed in order to ensure the efficient operation of the system. Instead, however, we are seeing a programme of cuts which will further impact on accident and emergency departments and, as we have seen, is already leading to closures. The cuts in the health service do not only impact on accident and emergency departments. For example, it is now common practice at Kerry General Hospital to discharge patients at weekends in order to free up beds. Staff are being forced to do this in order to cope with the pressure exerted, but patients who are discharged in this way often have to be readmitted. One individual who was terminally ill was discharged on a Friday, readmitted on a Sunday and died on a Monday. This is not the fault of the staff concerned who are working under enormous constraints and the problem is wider than the financial aspects. However, it is certain that closures and cuts as part of a money saving exercise are not going to provide the solution to the crisis.

The biggest problem with the accident and emergency departments at Kerry General Hospital and other locations is that the lack of beds prolongs the waiting time for treatment. As of 29 June, 29 surgical beds were closed at Kerry General Hospital. This means that patients in severe discomfort often have to spend long hours waiting before being seen. I received one report on a woman who had to wait almost 36 hours in the accident and emergency department before being given a bed.

The continued failure to open the much needed Tralee community hospital is also a huge issue locally. Millions of euro were spent on the construction of that hospital, but it lies idle.

Concerns have been expressed in Limerick about the future of accident and emergency services at the Mid Western Regional Hospital. It is feared that services may have to be curtailed from next week owing to a shortage of doctors. The chairperson of the hospital board has stated patients may have to be sent to Cork or Galway because the hospital may not be able to ensure full cover during night time hours.

I commend the hundreds of people from Roscommon and Portlaoise who stood outside Leinster House in the pouring rain to show their determination to prevent this from happening to them. They are prepared to fight back. People who are threatened with the removal of their rights and the closure of their accident and emergency departments need to tell the Labour Party which was so loud in opposition and its partner in government that they will not tolerate this without a fight. The Government will have to start listening to them.

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