Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Covid-19 is a reality and we are living with it on a daily basis. As I stated, we had 357 cases today, with three people losing their lives. I do not believe that for any reason a medical person would ask somebody to travel that distance unless absolutely necessary.

I have said that no community hospital around the country is taking direct admissions currently. This is best practice and a change in this process will be decided by NPHET and people above my pay grade. I am also aware the HSE has advised a number of specific challenges for Belmullet hospital, including infrastructure issues with the building, which were highlighted by an infection control review and a HIQA inspection of the facility. Infection prevention and control is now paramount and we want to ensure the safety of all patients. This is the reason people are not being admitted directly to community hospitals and are instead attending acute hospitals first.

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