Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

In the limited time available to me I wish to outline my grave concerns about the current state of the health service. Its deterioration under Senator James Reilly, the Taoiseach and the Minister for Health, Deputy Simon Harris, has been appalling. The figures mentioned in the debate so far are unbelievable. The Minister stated that, if there was a clinical need, patients would be seen within nine months. He should tell that to the lady in Mullingar who has been waiting for 24 months to have a knee replaced and cannot walk. He should tell it to Maureen who is over 80 years of age, has worked long and hard all her life and been told that it will be 36 months before her cataract will be removed. He should tell it to the countless scores of teenagers in my constituency who have been waiting for 36 months for referrals to orthodontists.

The figures the Minister has outlined are inaccurate and untrue.

We have such a crisis in our health service because we have a staffing crisis. I will give an example from the Midlands Regional Hospital in Mullingar. A woman, a qualified nurse, was appointed in September 2017. She is still awaiting a contract. Another person was appointed in June 2017 and is still awaiting a contract. Senior people leave our health service day-in, day-out. They leave our health service because of the lack of flexibility, poor pay and conditions and the lack of availability of proper career progression. In the Midlands Regional Hospital in Mullingar, the prefab that was opened to deal with the winter initiative is now operating 24-7 and is doing so predominantly with agency staff. Mullingar hospital and the maternity hospital are down by 15 whole-time equivalents and the only reason it continues to keep going is because of the goodwill of the people who operate it. The Government needs to wake up and address the challenges facing our health service before it is too late.

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