Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCeann Comhairle.

I agree with my colleague, Deputy Cullinane. This winter plan is a wish list which is short on targets, on timelines and on ambition. I am very fearful of a winter crisis at Portlaoise, Tullamore, and Naas hospitals. When Covid-19, in particular, is taken into account, the plan is lacking in detail, targets and timelines for staff recruitment and bed delivery. It falls far short of what is required to safely deliver appropriate care in the coming winter months. We need a plan that will catch up on missed care and to build capacity. This plan does not deliver enough ambition to catch up to where we were pre-winter, let alone when the usual barrage of the winter causes our emergency departments to clog up. When I refer to clogging up I mean clogging up in the normal conditions. I fear it will be much worse in the socially-distanced world we now live in.

I spoke last week to a man from Portarlington who attended an accident and emergency department in Tullamore recently. Despite suffering from chronic pain he stood at the edge of a waiting room as this room was too packed, and despite most people wearing masks, he felt unsafe being in such close proximity to a large number of people given the Covid-19 crisis. The man was understandably nervous as he injects a biologic monthly to suppress his immune system in an effort to manage his condition. When he could not stand any more he sat near a window. He had been sent to the accident and emergency department by his doctor who had immediate concerns for his health. He spent eight hours in the accident and emergency department on a Friday evening in September. Imagine how long he might have had to spend in January if he was in that same waiting room.

The Sinn Féin plan which was launched in early August would deliver 1,100 additional acute and subacute beds and 50 intensive care unit, ICU, beds this year. It would provide €40 million to kickstart cancer care and bring on an additional 2,500 staff ahead of winter, not after winter but ahead of it. The Government plan will only deliver 251 acute beds and 89 subacute beds in 2020, and 232 acute beds in early 2021. The 17 ICU beds proposed is far short of what is needed. Additional ICU beds in early 2021 will be crucial but no target has been set.

The HSE has admitted that the so-called new beds will only mitigate Covid-19-related capacity shortfalls and not meet demand. There are hundreds of unfilled vacancies across the health service, including many in Laois, Offaly and Kildare. As the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, INMO, and the Irish Hospital Consultants Association, IHCA, have said, without filling these vacancies new beds cannot be opened. Without clear commitments and rapid recruitment, the burden on existing staff will not be relieved. They are overworked and have worked hard through this pandemic with little or no relief.

There is no mention of disability services. I have spoken with CEOs of disability services as recently as this morning and I can tell the Minister that they are in disarray. There is no funding for mental health services. Why is this the case? There is also no funding to kickstart cancer services this year.

I welcome the investment in occupational welfare supports for front-line staff and investments in community care, in community intervention teams and the winter flu expansion. These were a core part of Sinn Féin’s capacity protection programme, but these alone are not enough. The rest of the plan misses the mark. It is in another missed opportunity to deliver a proper health service for the people of the midlands I represent.

Finally, I am concerned that not enough is being done for carers through the winter plan. Carers are burned out. We need to prioritise carers and day care centres. These need to be reopened and they need this help now. Gabhaim buíochas.

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