James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)

I am glad the Deputy qualified his statement. If there is a question, as has been suggested by some, that patients are being hidden around hospitals, it will be fully investigated. I would be pleased to deal with anybody engaging in that practice. There is absolutely no question that international information shows very clearly the patient is better off in a ward than in an accident and emergency department. A problem is better spread through a hospital rather than focused in an accident and emergency department. That argument has been well discussed and it is over.

There have been suggestions that people have not been waiting for full protocols to be in place and I am very happy to examine any area where that has happened. I know we now have consultants coming in on Saturdays and Sundays to do ward rounds. I know diagnostics are being read at weekends and patients are being discharged seven days a week rather than the five days a week that was true in the past. We want the measures that have been put in place on the ground formalised through the Croke Park process, and talks will begin imminently to achieve that.

Ultimately, we do not want to see discussions about inputs but rather outcomes for patients. We are discussing the patient experience and journey as well as how to improve incomes and ensure recovery is quicker and more complete.

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