Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Letterkenny University Hospital, which was recently renamed, is the seventh largest hospital in the State. Inpatient numbers exceed 20,000 every year. It is, therefore, a substantial hospital, serving a population of 160,000 across the county.

Over the years, based on inpatient numbers, Letterkenny University Hospital has been allocated the lowest budget of any hospital in the State and the lowest number of medical staff. It has been discriminated against by Government after Government. There are serious concerns throughout the hospital about the numbers of staff, the budget and the impact it has on waiting lists and trolley numbers. As the Minister is probably aware, the number on trolleys in Letterkenny University Hospital continues to increase and in 2015 almost reached the peak of 2006-2007. Management of the hospital, acting on behalf of the Saolta hospital group, has instructed consultant surgeons to scale back on elective surgeries during the month of January and early February to make beds available for additional people who present in accident and emergency. The most recent figures on waiting lists at Letterkenny Hospital show there are 13,950 outpatients, 3,338 of which have been waiting for more than a year. Those are citizens in Donegal who have been waiting more than a year for surgical procedures or appointments with consultants. There are an additional 1,742 inpatients on the waiting list, which is a shocking waiting list. It is well known in the hospital that this instruction will lead to the growth of those waiting lists. It is my view, and that of my party, that the Minister will focus on not having patients on trolleys this winter because it will not look good in the mouth of an election and to achieve this he will sacrifice patients on the waiting list. That belief was confirmed by comments made today by Liam Doran of the INMO. What choices has the Minister made? Will he intervene and send a clear message to the management of the Saolta hospital group asking why this instruction, which will result in the growth of the already shocking waiting lists in Donegal, has been issued? Why can it not address the issues in accident and emergency departments without growing the waiting list even further?

I also want to bring to the Minister's attention the profound concerns of senior staff in the hospital about this instruction. They have outlined those concerns to the management of the hospital which in my view is carrying out the instructions of its masters in the Saolta hospital group which in turn is carrying out the Minister's instructions. It is a political imperative to sacrifice patients in order to have as few people on trolleys this winter as possible. The Minister cannot rob Peter to pay Paul. Will he intervene on this issue and reassure the patients on waiting lists in Donegal that he will not allow this to happen in January and February?

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