Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

This morning, INMO representative Mr. Derek Reilly claimed that Tallaght hospital is unsafe and dangerous. He said that while he had great confidence in the staff, he would not like to be admitted to the accident and emergency unit. He said the unit is unfit for purpose owing to overcrowding and that the staffing level is lower than in 2012. As the Tánaiste knows, that is the same year in which HIQA produced a report on the unnecessary death of a patient at the hospital. In that report, HIQA stated front-line staff concerns about staffing had to be addressed. The chief executive officer of the hospital has denied the claims but at the same time he has agreed that there were 36 patients on trolleys in the accident and emergency unit yesterday. This number has decreased to 20 now but that is by cancelling all elective and day-case surgeries.

What is happening now, not only in Tallaght hospital but also in many others, is that elective surgery and day care are being postponed further and further. Is the Government satisfied that patient safety is not being jeopardised in Tallaght hospital? Is the Tánaiste confident that the 2014 service plan is sufficient to meet the growing demands on the accident and emergency departments across the country?

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