Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

In the same vein, I want to say this is the worst November on record for the trolley crisis. It is the last day of November today and it is the worst November on record. It has also been the warmest November on record so God knows what we will face when the weather gets really cold. We need to look at the health service in a very serious light. Figures tell us that in comparison with the EU, we have 2.7 beds available per 1,000 of the population, while the average in the EU is 5.7 per 1,000. Yet, our expenditure per capitais many times higher than most EU countries. There needs to be an entire review of what is going on in the HSE and the health service. In particular, according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, INMO, which we all agree with, it is vital that the HSE focuses on recruitment, retention, accommodation and capacity for nurses and doctors as a matter of urgency. This applies to the mental health services as much as it does to children's health and general hospital care.

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