Dáil debates

Wednesday, 11 May 2022

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions

 

12:22 pm

Photo of Michael LowryMichael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Despite billions of euro being pumped into the health services, our system still fails to meet the needs of service users. There is not just one reason for this. A myriad of issues combine to paint a picture of endless waiting lists, patients on trolleys, the inability to retain and recruit professional qualified staff, front-line staff burnout, under-resourced carers and mental health services, ambulances idling outside accident and emergency units and overburdened general practitioners.

While there is a consensus that Covid wreaked havoc on our health services, it cannot be denied that the system was in disarray prior to the pandemic. The health system has been inefficient for years. Covid is the latest reason being used to mask that reality. Close scrutiny would reveal that billions of euro invested in health services long before Covid have not yielded the results intended. The national picture shows outpatient waiting lists with in excess of 600,000 adults and children. A further 75,000 are on inpatient day-case waiting lists.

A week ago, I raised with the Taoiseach the fact that Limerick regional hospital recorded the highest number of triaged patients waiting on trolleys since records began. An expert group has been assigned to investigate the situation in Limerick. An independent expert group should be appointed to assist health services nationally. Every aspect of this dysfunctional service should be dissected and explored. The implementation of Sláintecare is limping forward.

In my constituency, Tipperary, we face the same issues and frustrations faced in every other constituency in the country. Every single day, my office receives calls from people pleading for medical care for themselves, their families and, increasingly, their children. An example of the neglect is the fact that people in south Tipperary suffering from Parkinson’s disease are desperate for neurological services. There is no neurologist, nor are there Parkinson’s nurse specialists. Ireland has just 30 neurologists, fewer per head of population than Mongolia. We rank 33rd in the world in the provision of neurologists. South Tipperary lies at the bottom, with no neurologist at all.

The HSE’s model-of-care documentation states we need 140 neurological nurse specialists. We have 42 nationwide. Neurological nurse specialists are vital to Parkinson’s patients. South Tipperary patients have been campaigning without success for this service since 2016. Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neurological disorder in the world, second only to dementia. The lifetime risk of developing Parkinson’s now stands at one in 15. It is the leading source of disability.

The billions of euro invested in the health service over recent years must be scrutinised. Why is it that we cannot see or measure improvements as a result of massive investment? Many in the HSE with first-hand knowledge tell me the service is going from bad to worse. When will the Government insist on holding the HSE to account and act on that?

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