Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

South Tipperary General Hospital has been operating continuously on a full capacity protocol for the last 16 months. According to the hospital manager, they have been unable to de-escalate the protocol given the persistent and chronically high numbers of patients on trolleys. I thank and praise the front-line staff of doctors and nurses and everyone else there.

There are recent and totally unexpected ward closures in the area. Some 18 step-down and rehab beds will be going this Friday in the wonderful geriatric unit at St. Patrick's Hospital in Cashel. The Sacred Heart unit at Dungarvan Community Hospital, which also is an excellent facility, will lose 11 rehab beds, three long-term beds and three step-down beds. This is just increasing the concerns of the staff and families of the patients in those facilities in the county and in west Waterford.

One measure that has been successful in addressing the problems of chronic overcrowding and long delays in our accident and emergency departments has been the introduction of ultrasound diagnostics in local primary care centres. In January 2017 the community healthcare organisation, CHO, area 5 implemented a short-term initiative whereby GPs could directly refer adult medical card and GP visit card holders for X-ray and ultrasound services to a number of identified providers. They are operating successfully in Limerick, Cork and Kerry but there is something wrong that we cannot do it in County Tipperary. This was supposed to be a short-term emergency measure, designed to relieve pressure on hospitals in the immediate post-Christmas period.

The Mary Street Medical Centre in Clonmel is an excellent health care facility and primary care centre that been attempting to implement the use of ultrasound diagnostics to help patients receive treatment faster. In February of this year, after a lot of hard work, examinations and visits from HSE senior personnel, it was awarded a contract by the HSE to carry out such diagnostics. Astonishingly, this contract was only for the duration of 14 days and was subsequently withdrawn after just ten days. It must have been the shortest contract in the history of the HSE. This is despite the fact that they carried out 35 scans in the seven working days making earlier diagnosis possible, which benefitted patients, and preventing referrals to the overcrowded accident and emergency department in South Tipperary General Hospital. Patients and doctors alike praised the service but the HSE has refused to extend the contract, in spite of the detailed analysis of the success of the measure.

One patient who was helped by this ultrasound service was a lady who was diagnosed with a tumour in her womb but who thankfully, has since had surgery to treat it. If she had to experience the 12-month delay for ultrasound in the public system, this lady’s outcome would have undoubtedly been far worse. This lady is a General Medical Services patient and would otherwise have had to pay for a scan, which she probably could not afford.

I hate waving things to the Taoiseach on his long good-bye, and I wish him well, but there is a lovely picture of the Taoiseach on billboards all over the State where he said he would end the scandal of patients on trolleys. Is the Taoiseach able to sleep at night when he thinks of this? I ask the Taoiseach to direct the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris - if he will not do it himself - to continue this wonderful service or to at least give it a three-month trial period to see how successful it was. There were 35 patients done in 11 days. The Minister is not here. Tá sé as láthair. He is on the road working hard, but he should be here dealing with these issues.

See this speech in context