Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am disappointed, if not unsurprised, that the Deputy has not acknowledged the significant progress that has been made by the staff of Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital to reduce the number of patients on trolleys in that hospital this year. These are not just figures; they are real people. Compared to last year, 850 fewer of Deputy Munster's constituents have had to experience a period of time on a trolley in the hospital this year. I want to make it clear that the number of people who have had such an experience this year is still too large, but it is worth noting that there has been a reduction of 850 in that number to date this year. The figures, which are there for all to see, show that people have been able to get in and out of the hospital more quickly because of an improvement in patient experience times. There are still many challenges in our health service. If we do not stop to acknowledge instances of significant progress being made by the staff of our hospitals, what are we actually at? We need to acknowledge it when people make progress. We are making progress in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, which is the Deputy's local hospital. I am going to acknowledge that even if she chooses not to do so.

Decisions on how best to utilise space in the medical assessment unit are best made by staff. We have a procedure in place to be followed by a clinical nurse manager, a clinical director, a doctor, a nurse or a manager who is running a hospital with a crowded emergency department. Under the procedure in question, which has been agreed with the INMO, if extra surge capacity is available to afford additional dignity and privacy to patients, that space should be used, even if it is not an ideal situation. We want to minimise the need for such arrangements by tackling overcrowding. We are going to do that by opening a new clinical decision unit. This is a tangible example of how capacity can be increased in hospitals. We are going to recruit more nurses. We have agreed with the INMO and SIPTU that an additional 1,208 nurses will be recruited this year. We will ensure there are more staff back in our hospitals. The bed capacity review will enable us to look at exactly how many beds we need. I am the first person to admit we need more beds in the Irish health service. However, beds are only good when personnel are available to staff them. I will ask the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy on the issue she raised with regard to Louth County Hospital, or else I will come back to her directly on the matter. I will follow up directly with the HSE to ensure the Deputy's correspondence is answered.

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