Brian Walsh (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is clear that value for money is provided. If the Minister compares the cost of occupying an acute hospital bed with the cost of providing home care services and examines the knock-on and positive impact on things such as waiting lists and trolley counts, when acute hospital beds are freed up, it has to have a very positive impact. The cost of staying one night in an acute hospital bed is €1,000. Ten home care visits could be covered for the same cost. I do not know from where the Minister got the figures for Galway Hospice which show that it receives the highest proportion per acute bed. However, it is worth noting that the only funding it receives is for its inpatient unit beds. I think it is the only hospice in the country that does not receive any assistance from the State for the home care service. Perhaps that is what is throwing up the figures mentioned by the Minister.

This is a no-brainer. It would ensure patients in the later stages of cancer received specialist care in the most appropriate environment. The last thing we want to see happen is loved ones spending the last hours of their lives in a six-bed ward surrounded by a plastic curtain, with perhaps a neighbouring patient watching television or listening to the radio. That is unacceptable, especially when we look at the quality of service that can be provided not just through Galway Hospice but in hospices all over the country.

I mentioned staff. Some staff are, as the Minister said, experiencing hostility from the public because of the inability to meet demand. This obviously affects staff morale. Crucially, it also threatens to adversely impact on the fundraising capacity of the hospice. The people of Galway have been hugely generous during the years and I would hate to see anything happen that would compromise the ability of the hospice to fundraise, as it has plans to develop a new inpatient unit. It is in negotiations with the HSE to develop a state-of-the-art 26-bed inpatient unit, in the provision of which fundraising will be a central part. I hope the Government will include capital funding for that service in the soon to be announced capital plan.

This issue needs to be taken by the scruff of the neck and addressed. We are talking about it long enough. Galway Hospice will not be found wanting in the quality of service and the value for money it provides. One of its directors, Mr. Keith Finnegan, met the director, Mr. Hennessy, earlier today. It was a positive meeting. However, it needs to be followed up. A Government is judged by the way it treats the most vulnerable in society and there is no cohort more vulnerable than those who are preparing for death and for whom the only medical care available is palliative care.

I thank the Minister for taking this issue and showing an interest in it. I ask that he continue to monitor the position in the coming days to ensure funding or resources will be provided to address the issue.

See this speech in context