Séamus Kirk (Louth, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to raise this important issue for the population of the north east. Will the Minister clarify the situation at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda in light of the recent announcement by Government backbenchers in the constituency that an additional €700,000 will be made available to alleviate conditions in the accident and emergency department? That announcement suggests a political motivation behind some of the decisions being taken. Are we focusing on spin or are we addressing the significant problems at this and other hospitals?

Unfortunately, the sum mentioned will not go far given the scale of the crisis at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital. Today, 53 patients are on trolleys there, the highest number in the country. It is consistently the worst-performing hospital in the State in terms of overcrowding. This poses a major risk to patient safety and must be addressed immediately. The proposed funding of €700,000 is a short-term provision. We must know what will be done in the medium term and whether there is a long-term plan in place.

I expect that the Minister will refer in his reply to my party's tenure in government. The unit at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital is the main accident and emergency department for the Louth-Meath hospital group. A new facility was opened in June 2010. It is three times the size of the old unit and was built at a cost of €11.5 million. The department is supported by an interim medical assessment unit, an on-site short-stay unit, a medical assessment unit at Louth County Hospital in Dundalk and a minor injuries unit at Our Lady's Hospital in Navan. The north-east regional colonoscopy screening service opened in Louth County Hospital in December 2010. In September 2010, 331 patients spent time on trolleys in Our Lady of Lourdes, which I accept is too many. However, in September 2011, under the auspices of the new Health Service Executive board which the Minister filled with civil servants from his Department, 842 patients were on trolleys, an increase of 154%.

The accident and emergency department at Navan remains open, yet there has been a leap in the number of patients on trolleys at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital. The situation will deteriorate even further in the coming months as the winter period is traditionally the worst in emergency departments nationwide. The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation has described the situation as a meltdown. It is clearly causing untold human suffering for patients. The INMO has called on the Health Information and Quality Authority immediately to inspect the unsafe conditions that exists in the emergency department at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda.

I appeal to the Minister to clarify the position. Will he indicate whether the funding which has been referred to by Government backbenchers in the constituency is being made available? What is the medium and longer-term plan to alleviate the State's worst pressure point in the health service?

See this speech in context