Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the fact that there will be fewer charges in hospitals. That is obviously a welcome move. There are more charges we would appreciate getting rid of. In fairness, there is ample parking at Bantry General Hospital and there are no charges for using it. This is very fair to people because the hospital is used so much. It could be used a lot more, however. That is the sad thing. Patients from Castletownbere, west Cork and places like that have informed me that in cases of small breaks etc., they have to drive past Bantry on their way up to Cork University Hospital in order to be landed into the back of an ambulance there where they will be waiting for half the day when they could have been looked after down below in Bantry in the first instance. It is sad that the Government destroyed the overnight service at Bantry. Even in the daytime, however, the hospital is trying to avoid taking people in, which is terrible.

I have an opportunity to speak about a number of health issues in the context of the Bill. On respite beds, I want to ask the Minister what is happening in our community hospitals. Many people are looking for respite beds but cannot get them. A family gave me four pages of detail on the attention they have to give to their mother. They love their mother. They were going to a wedding recently and were promised respite in a community hospital in the eastern part of my constituency. They were telephoned two or three days beforehand and told that the offer of respite was being withdrawn because the facility in question did not have enough staff. From what I can gather, there is a staffing crisis in our community hospitals. There are people coming to my clinics in respect of this matter. Last weekend, a lady who has a very sick child came to the clinic. She rang SouthDoc, but it took between three and a half and four hours for the child to be seen. There are a lot of problems in our hospitals.

I raised an issue with the Government last week. The Government has given two dates, 13 and 19 March, on which the Rivotril drug was due to be back in stock in pharmacies nationwide. Those dates have come and gone and there is still no sign of this essential drug, which is vital for thousands of patients who suffer from Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and other neurological diseases. We are now being told it is due to be back in stock on 2 April. However, patients who are urgently awaiting this drug have lost all confidence in the Government's announcement of its return. Maybe the Minister will be able to give us some clarity on that matter. He asked me to write to him and I did, but I still do not have the clarity we need in the context of the Rivotril drug, particularly for Parkinson's patients.

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