Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to take part in this debate. There is no doubt that the health system is far from perfect. Everyone agrees that improvements are needed in certain areas. I acknowledge that waiting lists need to be reduced and the number of patients on trolleys has to be reduced. There needs to be a concerted effort to fill the many vacancies that currently exist for front-line staff in the HSE. The Minister, Deputy Varadkar, and the Department of Health are actively working on these areas to find better solutions. I firmly believe that their efforts are already showing signs of improving the system. Simply attacking the HSE while offering no alternative is a ploy that is constantly used by the Opposition, particularly Sinn Féin. This approach offers no real solution to any of the problems.

8 o’clock

It is just political point scoring. In my constituency, the Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda is regularly highlighted as one of the hospitals with a higher than normal number of patients on trolleys in the accident and emergency department. I am not going to try to defend the figures but I am proactively working with the Minister and his Department to help reduce those figures. In this regard it is important to note that in the last 12 months the number of staff in the Lourdes Hospital has increased by 170; 24 new beds in Moorehall have been sourced to support the hospital; eight new clinical decision units will be opening this month; and 12 new beds, including a surgical assessor unit, are due to be opened shortly.

To finish I would like to highlight the fact that in Dundalk the Louth County Hospital offers many valuable services to the general public, from the minor injuries unit to the diabetes clinic, to name but two. I am pleased to note that 12 new transitional care beds are also on the way at Louth County Hospital. I strongly believe that one of the big issues in Dundalk and the surrounding areas is that the general public is simply not aware of the many fantastic services available at Louth County Hospital. I am constantly amazed by the number of people who bypass Louth County Hospital and go to Lourdes Hospital to be treated only to be referred back to Louth County Hospital. This is an area upon which we can improve. I am actively working with the Minister, his Department and the HSE to implement a system whereby the services provided by Louth County Hospital are more visibly promoted, thereby informing the people of Dundalk and the surrounding areas of the many valuable services currently available at the hospital.

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