Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will ask again about private hospitals and nursing homes. Having read what I have read, I am more convinced than ever that nursing homes were not put to the top of the list. The Minister said many times in this Dáil that HIQA was the voice of the nursing homes. I looked at the minutes and I did not see HIQA as the voice of the nursing homes. HIQA had the expertise and the knowledge, more than any other body in the State, on this. If the Minister, the Government, or any of the experts of NPHET, had asked, they might have found this out. HIQA was fully aware of all the gaps in the nursing homes and it has carried out reports year after year. HIQA was in position in December and January and should have been the first port of call for the Government to ask, "What have you identified for us and what are the gaps?", but the Minister did not do that.

I now turn to the issue of private hospitals. I preface my comments each time in the Dáil, and I preface them again, that I am an absolute passionate advocate of public medicine. What has happened here, however, with the Government's agreement with the private hospitals is nothing short of scandalous. The two private hospitals in Galway are operating at between 20% and 30% capacity. If the Minister has better figures, I ask that he please give them to me. Most unusually, I am relying on information I am getting from private consultants. I would be happy to be corrected. On top of this, the rehabilitation department of Merlin Park University Hospital, of which I am very proud - I had a family member there as a patient - was moved completely. The Minister might explain this to me. The gymnasium and all the facilities stopped and the patients and therapists were moved to Bon Secours Hospital Galway, which is a private hospital. The nurses were moved down to the public hospital to sit in a lobby to be called and put into a different ward every single day. Patients and therapists are all gone to the private hospital while Merlin Park University Hospital has been left empty. Perhaps the Minister will explain the logic of this.

A private consultant, who is a specialist in gynaecology, was interviewed on "Drivetime" on Monday. The consultant explained that she has 350 patients, 50 of whom need urgent surgery but she cannot do it. There are 300 awaiting consultations. The more I reflect on the Covid-19 crisis, the more it seems to disproportionately affect women and children. There is no cervical screening, no BreastCheck, no elective surgery carried out and emergency surgery is very limited. This is while we have the two hospitals practically empty. It is certainly 70% empty and God knows what the percentage is in Merlin Park University Hospital. I could pull a figure out and say 50% but I imagine it is much higher. We are paying €150 million per month, in advance I understand, for empty hospitals for three months and then we will renew it. There is absolutely no pathway to tell me that the women and men who are waiting for surgery will be seen. The list builds up and up and those in the private sector are now told to go into the public sector, which puts even more pressure on it. Even after they have been diagnosed and seen by consultants people are now going in to get a further diagnosis. Incredibly, consultants who are on a different contract in the public system are allowed to still see private patients, while the private consultants cannot see any of their patients. Inequity is built in to every part of this agreement. Furthermore, the ultimate insult is that we cannot see the contract because it is commercially sensitive. I would appreciate it if the Minister would deal with some of those issues.

See this speech in context