Patrick Nulty (Dublin West, Labour)

I wish to address the urgent matter of Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown which serves 331,000 people. There are some 35,000 attendances at the emergency department each year and I welcome the commitments given a couple of weeks ago by the Minister for Health, Deputy James Reilly, that the Government will retain a 24 hour full service at the accident and emergency department.

However, services in the hospital are under pressure and I call for a resolution of this issue. Last January, 32 beds were closed in Connolly Hospital and that number has now risen to 44. The total number of closed beds in our health service has spiralled and on 11 October last there were over 2,000 hospital beds closed throughout the Republic. A recent review conducted by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, INMO, revealed high levels of overcrowding in our emergency departments. The record numbers of people waiting on trolleys is the result of cuts in services, reducing the number of long-term care beds and increasing the volume of acute bed closures.

The Health Service Executive has implemented a number of measures to achieve so-called savings in Connolly Hospital. First, there has been a reduction in the use of agency staff and overtime hours. Second, the surgical day ward was temporarily closed and re-opened with eight places rather than 24. This ward will close fully again for three weeks from 19 December. The result of these reductions and bed and ward closures is increased waiting lists, growing numbers of patients on trolleys and an increased risk of the spread of infectious diseases.

The implementation of crude cuts and financial controls by HSE management is pushing services in Connolly Hospital and other hospitals to the brink. The decision to implement these cuts as we head into winter, when demand for hospital beds and services is at its highest, undermines the capacity of our health care professionals to deliver a fair, safe and efficient service. A recent report published by the Think Tank for Action on Social Change, TASC, showed that access to health care and life expectancy is determined by class and social background. An immediate and urgent strategy is required to eliminate the inequalities in life expectancy that exist in Ireland today. The first part of such a strategy must be to halt the implementation of crude cuts and closures in our health care system.

On behalf of the people who loaned me their vote and sent me to Leinster House, I call for the lifting of the recruitment embargo by the HSE. In Connolly Hospital, for example, 50 nurses have been taken off the roster, with the gaps being filled by agency work and overtime. This is not providing value for money. We must review that policy if savings are not being made, as well as the impact on patients. I also call for the opening of closed beds and hospital wards and for emergency funding for Connolly Hospital through the winter. A guarantee must be provided that full accident and emergency services will be retained in the future. I welcome the previous assurances and I hope to receive them again today.

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