Bobby Aylward (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The health service in this country remains in a state of panic. Day after day, I and my staff are inundated with calls from constituents suffering with significant medical conditions who are being forced to live in pain as they await treatment. The sick people of Ireland's standard of living is being completely diminished by the lack of action this Government is taking to mitigate the health crisis.

What is even more damning is the length of time that patients must wait before they receive the necessary treatment to alleviate their pain. In June, I was contacted by a mother who was distraught about her daughter's situation. Her daughter suffers from a rare neurological disorder known as Rett syndrome and is categorised as high priority for spinal surgery in Our Lady's hospital. She was placed on the waiting list in June of 2014. Between June 2014 and June 2015, her daughter's scoliosis progressed so rapidly that she was left with severely compromised lung function. The poor child could hardly walk or mobilise herself as a consequence. The mother told me of her utter heartbreak as her daughter continued to suffer, and she learned that the pre-operative MRI, which is needed in order to proceed with a crucial scoliosis procedure, would not take place until November 2016. I submitted a parliamentary question to the Minister on this specific case and I received a response stating that I must wait for an answer from the HSE, which offered little comfort to this family when it was eventually received. Thankfully, my office has managed to mitigate the situation, and the MRI scan will now take place in October of this year.

To put it simply, the current Government has been a disaster for the health service. I commend my colleague, Deputy Kelleher, on his introduction of this Private Members' motion, which seeks to highlight the current crisis in health care. The facts speak for themselves, as the latest figures show that, despite the diminished expectations, realistic targets are not being met. Despite the additional measures announced in April, the situation in emergency departments is worse now than at the same time in 2014. No amount of Government spin can conceal the stark reality that, year upon year, the number of people waiting an inordinately long time on the lists has increased, with a five-fold increase in the number of inpatient day cases waiting more than a year. For outpatients, the number waiting more than a year is up almost 60% year on year.

The Taoiseach must share a portion of the blame with his Minister for Health, as he promised two years ago that he would take personal charge of the situation. Since then, we have seen a Minister sacked or moved aside, waiting lists have soared, and emergency trolleys have become a constant feature across the country.

In my locality, the waiting lists for Waterford Regional Hospital, as of May 2015, were truly shocking. For outpatients overall, there were 26,553 on the waiting list in Waterford Hospital, but what is really appalling is that 10,886 people were waiting more than a year to see a consultant. April saw a small decrease, but it is still up 1,744 since January, and up 7,767, or almost 250%, since May 2014. These are shocking figures of which the Minister must take note.

We also have the ludicrous situation whereby Kilcreene Orthopaedic Hospital is in danger of being downsized or even closed as the HSE considers centralising elective orthopaedic surgery at Waterford University Hospital. I call on the Minister to give a strong commitment to the hard-working staff in Kilcreene that orthopaedic services will be maintained at this first-class facility indefinitely.

I have personally heard grave concerns from staff at one of the most efficient rural hospitals in the country, St. Luke's in Kilkenny, regarding the trolley crisis, from which we never suffered for years until now. The Government must fund the health service adequately so that the demand from the sickest in society can be met.

As a support mechanism for our tireless front-line staff, the Government must increase staff numbers so that overcrowding can be eased. The continuing difficulties endured by our patients and staff in hospital departments must be addressed as a matter of urgency as the busy winter period eerily approaches. The Minister has an opportunity now. There is a budget coming up and we hear much about the goody bags that are being handed out every day and announcements day in, day out about what is being done over the coming months, and everyone has great expectations. What more could we expect than that the patients in hospitals and on waiting lists will get a fair deal? The Minister has an opportunity to go back to the Government and make a demand for adequate funding to get rid of these waiting lists on which thousands of people have been waiting for well over a year for elective surgery. I ask the Minister to do it and to try to make a change for these people who have been waiting for so long.

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