Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

My example goes outside the criteria listed by the Minister. I have seen a number of cases in which people who were given appointments for planned procedures have had those procedures systemically cancelled by the hospital system in a manner which is devastating for them. The hospitals in question have stated in their correspondence that they will be in touch in due course, but they have not given the patients another date. I will explain what I think is happening. I suggest the hospitals are removing particular patients from the planned electives list when they give them appointments, only to cancel the procedures the following week. Are we seeing a vacuum in the statistics caused by the systematic cancellation of apparently scheduled appointments? If so, it is a cause of serious concern for me and everybody else. This does not relate to the criteria listed by the Minister. I think it goes to the heart of the problems we are seeing with the HSE. I do not blame the Minister personally for this; the health care system is broken and disintegrating. It seems we are going to see implementation of the Sláintecare report, but I do not know whether the HSE is fit for purpose in the context of its delivery. The HSE has the biggest budget we have seen, but we are not seeing the output. We need to have a broader debate about the how the HSE, as an entity, can implement a better public health strategy.

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