Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this motion and the establishment of the special all-party committee to develop a single long-term plan for health care. As the Minister, Deputy Harris, has already said, now is the time to put the benefits of our economic success to work for the people so that we can help deliver the public services this country deserves.

Today, there are still too many people on hospital trolleys in accident and emergency departments waiting for a hospital appointment or a surgical procedure. With the make-up of the current Dáil, we now have an historic opportunity to work together, take a cross-party approach and develop a long-term plan for health services that will deliver the services we all want for this country. I firmly believe we should all work together on this and we can develop a plan with a vision of how health care can be delivered to the entire population.

Coming from County Louth, I am acutely aware of the challenges facing the health services. Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda is, unfortunately, regularly in the news for the wrong reasons. Hardly a week goes by when we do not hear the number of people on trolleys in its accident and emergency department is among the highest in the country.

While I agree that one person on a trolley is one too many, I do not agree with the regular commentary which seems to judge Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital based on the number of patients waiting on trolleys as opposed to the services they ultimately receive. Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital is one of the top hospitals in the country and its staff are excellent. I am basing this opinion on the views of people who have been treated in it. I have met many people during the course of my constituency work who have been treated or cared for in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital and the overriding consensus is that once one gets past the initial admission procedure, the treatment received is second to none.

In my home town of Dundalk Louth County Hospital has never been busier. Last year alone more than 25,000 patients were treated. This is despite the fact that the hospital was downgraded by the previous Fianna Fáil Government and that at one stage it was feared that it would be closed completely. Far from being closed, it is growing the list of services available, including the number of acute services.

In line with A Programme for a Partnership Government, the minor injuries unit in Dundalk will see its opening hours increase and the age at which patients can be treated extended.

One of the most significant problems I see in Dundalk with health services is the fact that too many people are still not aware of the many services available in Louth County Hospital. Too many are still going to the emergency department in Drogheda when they could simply go to the minor injuries unit in Louth County Hospital. By using the minor injuries unit in Dundalk as opposed to the emergency department in Drogheda, substantial improvements could be achieved in both hospitals.

In the past few years I have worked closely with the previous Ministers for Health, Deputy Leo Varadkar and Dr. James Reilly, to ensure a primary care centre is opened in Dundalk. I now look forward to working with the new Minister, Deputy Simon Harris, and his Department to ensure this much-needed primary care centre will finally open in Dundalk.

Getting back to the motion, I firmly believe, as does the Fine Gael Party, that universal health care is the way forward. It should also be noted that this approach is supported by the World Health Organization, the United Nations, the OECD and the European Union. A successful universal health care programme, as described by the Minister, will have four main objectives: reducing unmet health needs, reducing inequality in access to health goods and services, improving service quality and improving financial protection.

I fully support the motion on establishing an all-party committee to develop a single long-term plan for health care. What I would not like to see happen is old-style party politics dominating the committee. We have a unique and an historic opportunity to work together across the House to develop a plan that will shape the future of health care in Ireland. We must not expect results to happen immediately; nor must we expect that simply throwing money at them will solve all of the issues. For this vision and plan to be successful, it must consider all aspects of health care systems from the ground up. We must consider work practices within the health service, what is working and what is not. We must not be afraid to make hard choices if the end result will be a world-class health service that will be fit for purpose and service all of the people.

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