Anthony Lawlor (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am sure Deputy Dooley will have his time to speak. There is a new term, "transitional patients," which refers to patients who have not made up their minds whether they should go into a nursing home or are capable of looking after themselves. It is an issue that has not been dealt with.

Naas General Hospital has the ability to recruit extra staff, which I welcome. It is often the case that temporary staff are not available over the peak Christmas period or during bank holidays. Having permanent staff is welcome, but there is an issue with the national recruitment service. We might consider reinstating the group system or having a local system. I note Tallaght Hospital recruits its own staff directly. It is important that other hospitals have the ability to do that.

Consultants in most hospitals do a round once a day. There are opportunities to discharge patients throughout the day. There should be an onus on consultants to increase the number of times they do their rounds; perhaps they could do them twice a day.

One issue no one has mentioned is the fact that the EU working time directive has had an impact on hospital doctors. It may be something we should examine to determine the implications it has had.

See this speech in context