Martin Ferris (Kerry, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

On Tuesday, between 12.30 p.m. and 2.30 p.m., nurses in the accident and emergency department in Tralee University Hospital found it necessary to protest against conditions patients in the department have been experiencing over a long period. The problems in the accident and emergency department in Tralee are overcrowding and a shortage of beds. Patients are admitted and are not transferred to appropriate hospital beds because beds are not available. That is the sad situation. I stood in protest with the nurses and there was a huge level of support and appreciation from the general public who passed in cars, buses, lorries and so forth. Almost every person gave a thumbs up or beeped the car horn to show support for the nurses. The staff are fantastic. They do a tremendous job in very difficult conditions. Every day, between 17 and 20 people wait on trolleys in the accident and emergency department in Tralee University Hospital. That is a serious indictment on the provision of a health service that is vital for patients.

I understand the hospital has a bed complement of approximately 350, with an additional 16 to 18 beds available to complement that. Some wards have been closed for a number of years and are lying idle. I understand also that the number of people lying on trolleys waiting for a bed in the hospital has increased by 67% since 2016.

The hospital has sought an extra 43 beds and the appropriate number of staff to provide the necessary service in the accident and emergency department in Kerry University Hospital.

So far, nothing has been forthcoming and that is the reason the nurses found it necessary to leave their posts and go outside the hospital to protest. It is a shameful state of affairs that they found it necessary to do so. They are highly appreciated by the people of Kerry, by patients and their families for the tremendous work they do. The Government must make the extra 43 beds available as well as the staff necessary to service them. It should be done immediately. It is not right that every day there are 17, 18, 19 or 20 people lying on trollies. Some of them are very elderly; I was there myself and there were 93 and 94 year olds in the height of the winter lying on trolleys, some of them for three or four days. I know of one person who passed away shortly after being moved to a bed. That is how they spent the last 72 hours of their life. It is not right.

I am not blaming the Minister of State personally but I do believe the Government has a responsibility to look after patients and provide the resources necessary to deliver a facility in this day and age. Is the Government prepared to make the extra 43 beds available? Is it prepared to create the staffing levels to service those beds and alleviate the terrible pressures and stressful conditions that nurses in the accident and emergency department of University Hospital Kerry work under? The nurses' commitment to patient care is tremendous. Is the Government going to match it?

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