Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is down to good management. It is down to excellent leadership by management and by some of the consultant teams. They have some of the resources they need. In Waterford hospital, the outpatient list has come down by more than 20% in the past year. Over the past two years, it has added more than 200 staff and opened a see and treat gynaecology clinic. Last November, there were women waiting more than two years for gynaecology appointments. In Waterford, that has gone from 24 months to nine. It continues to fall. The new cath lab will be open soon. There is a new modular built emergency department, ophthalmology theatre, MRI replacement laboratory extension, outpatient build. When I was there we spoke about a new 160-bed ward block. That is one hospital and one example.

I fully accept that we have a long way to go. I see the pressures every day for patients, but let us think of the progress being made. Progress like that is being made across the board. We have to back our healthcare workers, invest, grow the workforce and help them run the service as well as possible because other hospitals are capable and others are doing what Waterford is doing. We know much more progress needs to be made but really good progress is now being made. My job, as well as that of Government and of us all here, is to keep doing what is right to get patients care when they need it.

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