Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I raise an issue of huge concern to both my constituents in Cork South-West and people all over the country. I speak of people who have been left hurt, sick and frustrated by the incompetence and delays on the part of the Health Service Executive, HSE.

For the many reasons I will outline, elder care is at an all time low. Yesterday, a 90 year old man from Bantry, west Cork, travelled 503 km over five hours to Kingsbridge Hospital, Belfast for a cataract operation, which took place this morning. Mr. John Patrick Harrington, is, as I said, 90 years old and is a carer for his wife. He is blind in one eye and was fast losing sight in his second eye such that an urgent operation was needed. His family was told that he could wait up to four years to have the procedure carried out under the HSE. While the proposed solution, which has now taken place, was against my own principles, I discussed it with the management of Kingsbridge Hospital in the context of the cross-Border health care directive. The hospital, in turn, contacted the patient in Bantry on 2 October and 23 days on, as we speak, John Patrick, had his operation carried out in what the family describe as a stunning facility, and is now on the five-hour journey home to Bantry. Does the Taoiseach accept that this is a failure of the health system in this country? Is it also a failure to care for the elderly in our country, many of whom worked tirelessly and are now left suffering and in need of simple procedures? Is it right that I am now seeking volunteer drivers from west Cork to take elderly people to Belfast for simple operations that cannot be carried out in the South of Ireland?

I also want to draw the attention of the Taoiseach to a similar matter which, again, affects our elderly. Bandon Community Hospital is a state-of-the-art facility operated efficiently by management and staff. The extension and refurbishment works ongoing at that hospital for the past year and a half were completed in August 2017 but no patient has yet been allowed pass through its doors owing to the refusal of the HSE to adequately staff it, resulting in many elderly patients who urgently require beds having to travel 40 miles to Macroom Community Hospital for a bed, a journey for which no public transport is available. The Friends of Bandon Community Hospital and the people of Bandon have fundraised hundreds of thousands of euro only to see the newly-renovated hospital lie idle while the HSE twiddles its thumbs. Is this the right way to treat elderly people in west Cork or in any part of the country?

In Bantry General Hospital, the contracts of a senior consultant, Mr. Aboghaly, and his registrar, Dr. Khan, expired two weeks ago. We now hear that interviews for their replacements have taken place in the past number of days and that replacements are imminent. Surely the HSE knew months in advance that these contracts were due to expire such that interviews could have taken place sooner. However, this did not happen and the much-needed surgical unit in Bantry hospital is now in jeopardy. Mr. Aboghaly was a consultant of excellence and his loss will have a huge affect on many elderly people in west Cork who relied on him. Again, I ask the Taoiseach, is this the right way to deal with our elderly and health care in west Cork?

See this speech in context