Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Through parliamentary questions and in various health-related debates in this House, I raised with the Minister on several occasions the need to upgrade and extend the emergency department at Cavan General Hospital. For a considerable time there has been a yearly increase in attendance at the hospital, which covers counties Cavan and Monaghan. Patients also attend from parts of Leitrim, Longford and Meath. The inadequate accommodation obviously creates additional pressures for patients and staff. That, in itself, puts additional pressure on the delivery of health services at the hospital. Earlier this month, I was glad to learn from the HSE that the project is now at design stage. I would like if the Minister could confirm to me in writing over the next few days that the project will remain a priority. It is absolutely needed.

Alongside the emergency department development, we need major capital investment at the hospital. In view of the additional accommodation requirements arising from Covid-19, there are now particular pressures on other areas, including outpatient, day and elective cases. The current hospital infrastructure is not adequate to meet the current demands for scheduled and unscheduled care. Substantial work was carried out up to 2015 by a design team on a major capital project for the hospital. I am anxious to have that project move to the next stage. What we have at present are unbearable pressures on clinicians and all their support staff in trying to deliver care. They are working extremely hard in difficult circumstances. To be fair to the Minister, he responded in writing to other queries I raised in this format. I would like him to confirm to me that the project in question will be activated and that it will proceed to the next stage for major capital investment.

The endoscopy unit at Cavan General Hospital, with which the Minister is familiar, has been very busy over recent years, taking patients from outside our catchment area. The unit needs a stand-alone facility nowadays to ensure all the requirements can be met and so people will not be traipsing through the hospital to gain access to it. I would like it if the capital project could be progressed because there are unbearable pressures on accommodation.

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