John Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Coffey, for his reply, which I am sure has come from the Department of Health. I am aware of Summerhill, Carn House and Tara House in Gorey. They provide an excellent service throughout the county, as do the outreach nurses with whom we deal with on a regular basis. The point made by the patients and others who seek a restoration of the service in New Ross is that patients had built up a bond, trust and friendship with the nurse in question who understood them and their needs and how difficult it was for them at times to attend the services or to leave their home and be part and parcel of the community. In the reply, the Minister of State outlined that there is a nurse on maternity leave and that she will return eventually. It is the right of any person on maternity leave to be out of the workforce for a year or a year and a half. Is the HSE saying Maryville will have to survive and continue without a nurse for a period of time? Could the Minister of State, Deputy Coffey, request the Minister for Health to re-examine the situation and return the nurse who was located in Maryville and find a replacement nurse for the other service to which she has been deployed? That would be very important.

I deal regularly with Ciarán Cullen and Martin Fitzhenry and others who are outreach nurses for mental health services. They say it is very important for there to be continuity in the care provided, given the bond and trusting relationship that is built up over the years. It is important that such a level of care would continue to be provided, not in the interests of the nurses but of the patients. I urge the Minister of State to request that the Minister for Health, through the HSE, restores the services that were available in the New Ross area as quickly as possible. Wexford, Gorey and Enniscorthy have a seven day service while Maryville in New Ross only provides a five day service and it is important that the service would be adequate to serve the needs of the people. It is also important that the particular nurse who has the ear of the people suffering from mental health and depression disorders in New Ross would be returned as quickly as possible.

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