Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I want to raise the very important issue of the future of the accident and emergency unit at Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise. The Minister of State will be aware that the national director of acute hospital services published a report in which he said that the 24-hour a day, seven days a week accident and emergency unit in Portlaoise was "not clinically sustainable". His report went on to say that the department should be replaced by a medical assessment unit and local injury clinic operating during daytime hours only. He added that other services, such as day care surgery, endoscopy and a local injury unit should be developed to make up for the loss of emergency and surgery facilities, as happened after other hospitals closed their units.

The Minister for Health, responding to public pressure, said there were absolutely no plans to close the unit. I accept that but the question of downgrading the unit is in the offing. The report did not mention closing it. It referred to scaling it down and replacing it. The Department of Health’s submission to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, as part of the Government’s comprehensive spending review, suggested closing 24-hour services at five hospital emergency departments, including Portlaoise, if its budget were cut. The Department of Health has caused this scare. Maybe it is trying to frighten off the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform by saying if it cuts the budget it will close the accident and emergency unit.

That the Department is suggesting this possibility undermines the unit in Portlaoise hospital. There are 43,000 visits to the accident and emergency unit in Portlaoise every year. It is one of the busiest units in Ireland outside the capital city, according to the HSE report of activity to the end of July, published this month.

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