Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Private Members' Bill. Portlaoise hospital is in the town in which I live and there have been major concerns. I express my disgust at the scandal of the disgraceful treatment of families who lost babies in Portlaoise and the way they were lied to and misled into believing their cases were isolated and that there were no similar incidents. The hospital has been under-resourced for years and no Government in recent years has set out a clear plan to secure the future and resource core services or to develop and maintain Portlaoise as a significant regional hospital. Were it not for the efforts of staff and pressure by people in the local community and political representatives, the services at the hospital would have been downgraded further a long time ago.

The HSE and the Department of Health cannot plead that they did not know what was happening in Portlaoise. In 2006, staff wrote to the then Minister for Health, Brian Cowen, to highlight the difficulties at the hospital including shortage of resources and inadequate facilities, and no action was taken. In 2007, the State Claims Agency brought the problems at Portlaoise to the Government's attention. Again, no action was taken. There have been many other whistleblowing incidents, including in 2012, when a midwife filed an incident report in which she described the treatment of a patient as "barbaric" and reported the doctor on call for negligence. The CEO of HIQA, Phelim Quinn, said "the hospital was allowed to struggle on despite a number of substantial governance and management issues over the quality and safety of services". Sufficient action was not taken at national, regional and local level to address this. We must put it behind us.

Following the publication of the HIQA report, it has been reported that at least six separate investigations are under way as a result of deaths of babies in the maternity unit. Among the main issues to be addressed are the lack of resources - physical, infrastructural and staffing - and unsafe practices as highlighted by staff members and HIQA. The Minister spent a long time in Portlaoise meeting people affected and staff at the hospital. The maternity services in Portlaoise serve a huge catchment area including all of Laois, south Kildare, north Tipperary and Offaly, and more than 2,000 babies were delivered there in one year. The accident and emergency unit is one of the busiest outside Dublin, as shown by the figures. This is due to the catchment area, the presence of the two prisons just across the road from the hospital and the fact that Portlaoise and County Laois have a number of busy arterial routes running through them, such as the N7, N8 and N80.

The statement during recent days by Mr. Tony O'Brien, director general of the HSE, that Portlaoise hospital is a "model two and a half" hospital and unsustainable highlights the failure of the HSE and Governments to date.

He went on to say the hospital's 24-7 emergency department and intensive care unit were unsustainable. An emergency department that is only open between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. will not be acceptable to the people of Portlaoise, County Laois or the surrounding catchment area. They will have to be made sustainable.

I listened carefully to the Minister and while I accept that he is introducing measures aimed at making Portlaoise hospital safer, the Government and the HSE have a responsibility to set out a clear plan to turn it into a modern and fully developed regional hospital. That work must begin immediately. It is welcome that maternity services in Portlaoise have been grouped with those provided at the Coombe hospital. By moving between the Coombe hospital and Portlaoise, consultants will develop the caseload experience that will enable them to manage difficult cases. I am not a medical person, but I recognise that this is a sensible decision.

We will be holding the Minister to his commitment to implement in full all of the recommendations made in HIQA's report. Portlaoise hospital has to be resourced as a busy regional hospital. Adequate consultant cover must be provided for emergency, maternity, paediatric and other core services. The Minister referred to capital investment in infrastructure. HIQA was very clear in recommending that the long awaited new maternity unit be constructed. I recall raising this issue as a county councillor several years ago. Staff of the hospital have been calling for the development of the new unit for many years. I am aware that money is always an issue, but I urge the Minister to prioritise the project. In a recent visit to the hospital he stated he could not guarantee which services would be maintained. I ask him to guarantee the core services in the hospital, including the maternity unit and the 24-7 emergency department. The people of County Laois will tolerate nothing less. As a Deputy for the area, I want the hospital to be developed and improved in order that the safety of patients can be ensured.

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