Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for being here to discuss this important issue today. Kildare and west Wicklow have a combined population of approximately 241,000. Times have changed significantly since the Lakeview mental health unit and Naas General Hospital were designed and built. Lakeview, for example, was designed and built in the 1980s when the combined population of Kildare and west Wicklow was only 135,000. The 30 bed mental health unit is no longer fit for purpose because demand is far outstripping supply, unfortunately, due to demographic pressures and the size of the youth population in particular. Regularly, people in Kildare who need acute mental health services must avail of acute beds in overflow in Portlaoise and Tallaght. That is not good enough. People in Kildare who need acute mental health services deserve to be treated and cared for in their own county, close to their family and friends who will help them through their darkest days.

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It is crucial that we push on with a redevelopment of a new stand-alone unit for Lakeview.

The long-planned endoscopic unit for Naas General Hospital, which would include a physical therapy and medicine unit, oncology unit and a day ward, is critical for the greater development of Naas General Hospital, not just for Kildare people on waiting lists or who have to travel for such services, but also to strengthen the links between Naas, Tallaght and St. James's hospitals as part of a strategic development for the Dublin and Midlands hospital grouping.

The new 50-bed unit for Lakeview, as listed in the capital development plan, Project Ireland 2040, would include a high observation unit which would provide an improved safety and working environment for the staff, better facilities for the elderly and single rooms to ensure patient privacy. The proposed new standalone mental health facility would also be on the site of Naas General Hospital. This would be a win-win because a development of a new standalone mental health facility on the grounds of Naas General Hospital would free up the existing Lakeview mental health unit, which is adjoining Naas General Hospital in close proximity to the emergency department, and would provide the opportunity to deliver quickly increased capacity for Naas General Hospital, which is needed with the growing population in Kildare.

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