Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)

It is commonly believed the Health Information and Quality Authority, HIQA, is used by the Government to hold investigations to enable the latter to close services. When there is a serious risk to health in a particular hospital, however, HIQA refuses to hold an investigation if it does not fit in with Government policy.

Last month, Deputy Adams, a local GP, Dr. Ruairí Hanley, and I submitted a request to HIQA to carry out an investigation into the ongoing serious overcrowding in Drogheda. There are consistently between 45 and 55 patients on trolleys and chairs in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital. This is the highest number of inpatients without beds in any hospital in the State. In a further development last week, three patients and an unspecified number of staff at the hospital were screened for TB. The significant pressure on the emergency department represents a clear threat to patient safety and welfare. HIQA's reply ignored the central point that overcrowding in the hospital was a health risk that demanded an investigation.

We have seen what happens when regulators get too close to the Government - the system breaks down and there are serious ramifications for the State. In this instance, HIQA's dangerous maladministration and regulatory negligence could have a grave effect in the mid-north east. I call on the Minister for Health to initiate a full investigation into the overcrowding at the hospital. I also call on him to comment on the Peyton report, which referred to Navan hospital.

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