Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I want to take this opportunity to praise Wexford General Hospital and all those involved in dealing with its recent fire and the very successful evacuation from the fire service to the volunteers, the staff, the management and everybody else. There were two firemen who worked on the blaze for 20 minutes and they did a stellar job. Organisations have fire plans and procedures in place but we often do not expect them to be needed. The response was swift and everyone involved put their shoulder to the wheel to evacuate the hospital and ensure the people inside were led to safety. I am sure all the patients and their families will be very appreciative of the work that went on to ensure there were no casualties.

Those involved included the nurses, doctors and other staff of the hospital, all the emergency services and, in particular, the members of the fire service, who did remarkably well considering a lot of their manpower were attending a car accident in another part of the county when the fire broke out at the hospital. Those who helped to assist the firefighters deserve special mention and their actions most likely helped to prevent the fire spreading further.

While the focus might be on the fire-damaged building, it is also an appropriate opportunity for the Government to review fire services and identify ways in which they can be better supported and brought into the modern-day realm. There are inquiries and investigations into how this fire occurred and I hope those involved are successful in establishing the cause, with a view to ensuring that a similar incident never happens again.

One of the consequences of this fire is the extra pressure it has brought to bear on University Hospital Waterford. Our emergency departments are under pressure at the best of times and, therefore, the additional pressure of having one hospital temporarily out of action will be felt by all of those working on the front line. We must recognise the way in which staff of other hospitals contributed to the emergency response in accommodating people who had to be evacuated from Wexford. We must ensure action is swift in order that Wexford General Hospital is back operating bigger and better than before.

Only a few days before the blaze at the hospital, during a sitting of the Committee of Public Accounts, I received confirmation from Department of Health officials that they had not yet received a proposal for the 97-bed ward block for Wexford General Hospital. I was told the proposal was still being reviewed by the hospital group, as part of the HSE. This is the type of process that can be drawn out and where cans get indefinitely kicked down a long road. In light of recent events and the current circumstances, there will be a need to repair and rebuild this hospital in Wexford. It would be worth not just investigating but joining the dots with regard to maximising the beneficial use of taxpayers’ money through the adding of the 97-bed unit while the restorative works are going on. That is the ask of the management of Wexford General Hospital, the people of Wexford and the CHO 5 area while Wexford hospital is out of commission. It has gone from 235 beds to 123 and although all he staff are prepared to pull their weight and be drafted to other hospitals, that is not ideal and it means their work environment will not be as familiar as it should be. Wexford hospital badly needs to have its emergency department back up and functioning fully. According to Dr. Yousif, who is the assistant director, it appears that we are at least six months away from that, but those six months could be spent planning for the 97-bed unit. It makes sense. It was to go ahead, according to the Minister of State, Deputy James Browne, so it is in the offing.

We met the hospital team last week and they say they are ready to go tomorrow with the planning proposal, if it is needed. I ask the Government today, on behalf of the people of Wexford, that staffing levels be met but also that the bed numbers be secured in the emergency department and in the rest of the hospital. The significance of the 97-bed unit is that we would have 47 extra beds if that unit was in situ. This is a hospital that came under huge pressure during Covid and last winter, and the staff have done very well to maintain the level of care. The pressure on staff in Wexford is quite well catered for by management. The manager of the hospital, Enda O'Leary, is a former HR manager. There are staffing level issues in every other healthcare setting, from primary care to children's disability network teams to CAMHS, but the hospital itself is well managed.

The most important thing happening in Wexford today is the restoration of the emergency department. I ask that the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, as Chief Whip, arrange a meeting with the Minister for Health to cater for the public representatives of Wexford to discuss bringing forward the 97-bed unit.

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