Alex White (Dublin South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue of health services in the Carlow area. The HSE provides a wide range of primary, community and continuing care services in Carlow. They include long-term residential and rehabilitation services for older people, a step-down transitional care unit providing palliative and respite care, mental health services and primary care services, including an out-of-hours general practitioner service. Sacred Heart Hospital in Carlow provides long-term continuing care and residential and rehabilitation services for older people, while Carlow District Hospital provides a range of services, including step-down transitional care. Mental health services are provided, including acute day services and community mental health services, at St. Dympna’s. St. Luke's General Hospital, Kilkenny, is the acute general hospital for the Carlow area. It is a 270-bed hospital that provides a range of inpatient day-care and outpatient medical and surgical services for the population. Consultant geriatricians from the hospital provide day hospital outreach clinic services and rehabilitation support in Sacred Heart Hospital.

With regard to radiography, an issue the Deputy raised specifically, the GP radiography referral process for Carlow and Kilkenny is centralised in the X-ray department at St. Luke's General Hospital. As part of service reorganisation and in order to facilitate safer services for patients, all urgent X-ray referrals are undertaken in St. Luke's General Hospital. Non-urgent elective GP referrals are undertaken St. Dympna's in Carlow. This facilitates improved access to diagnostic services for the Carlow population. All X-rays undertaken at St. Dympna’s are transmitted electronically through the nationally integrated medical imaging system to St. Luke's General Hospital where they are reported on by the consultant radiologist. In 2013, 2,971 patients attended the X-ray service at St. Dympna’s. Following the recent retirement of the permanent radiographer at St. Dympna's, X-rays are provided through the radiotherapy service at St. Luke's General Hospital. A recruitment process is under way to fill the post.

The Deputy raised the issue of paediatric physiotherapy services. The HSE provides services for children up to the age of 18 years who present with complex needs. I can confirm that a paediatric physiotherapist works as a core member of the early intervention team for the area. This is a multidisciplinary team that includes other professionals such as a speech and language therapist, an occupational therapist, a psychologist and a paediatrician. The team works together with children aged up to six years who have a physical or an intellectual disability. The team also works with the families of these children.

The HSE has indicated that there has been a temporary deficit in staff numbers in the paediatric physiotherapy service overall in Carlow since November last year. This was due to a combination of factors. Approval has been given to fill one vacant post and the recruitment process is under way.

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