Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I have three suggestions for the Minister in respect of the issues at accident and emergency departments across the country. First, we need to better utilise our injury units, which can provide for quick diagnosis and discharge back into the community and ensure that people do not have long stays for tests that can be provided there. Currently, people go directly to accident and emergency departments rather than to injury units and an effort needs to be made to encourage people within the catchment area of injury units to go there in preference. If they do present at an injury unit, they should be considered as having been admitted to an accident and emergency department and get credit for when they go there. To send a clear message on the matter, I ask the Minister to make one change, namely, to reduce the charges for people presenting at an injury unit. One pays the same charge for presenting at an injury unit as at an accident and emergency department. There is no incentive there. If the policy is to encourage people to go to injury units, which it should be, we should not charge them the same fees as for going to an accident and emergency department. There are state-of-the-art equipment, diagnostics and even staff on call in many of the injury units, yet the doors are locked at 8 p.m. Surely it would make far sense if the GP out-of-hours service based beside such facilities operated out of them and had access to the diagnostic facilities.

Second, we need to utilise vacant nursing home beds available throughout the country to assist with the discharge of patients from hospital.

Third, we have to lift the embargo on critical appointments. I flagged in the Chamber last week the issue of vacant posts for public health nurses in Ballinsaloe and it is welcome that we have made progress and two of the posts will be filled. Nevertheless, two community nursing posts that could assist in the discharge of patients from Portiuncula hospital remain vacant, and it makes more sense to make that investment now.

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