Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We face a perfect storm in our health service: a lack of community care and increasing pressure on already overburdened hospitals. In the first three months of the year, in Cork hospitals almost 6,500 beds have been lost because of delayed discharges. This has led to 1,900 cancellations in hospitals and that figure does not include CUH. Each one of these is a human being suffering because of the Government's and Minister’s inability to do their job.

I am supporting a constituent who for three and a half years has a colostomy bag that should have been removed and has had the surgery cancelled three times. He can barely walk, is in constant pain and is a carer for his sick wife. This is the reality people are living through. Another man contacted me yesterday to say his wife had a terrible fall a few weeks ago, breaking both her arm and wrist. She is 79 years old. He said she could not see because she is waiting four years for cataract surgery and no sign of it. He asked me to get him information as she will have to go to Belfast because the Government cannot supply the healthcare she needs. The tragedy is he suffered a stroke and she was his carer. He is 81 and she is 79. They are being abandoned because of Government inaction. I know of another lady. This is unbelievable. Her mother, being treated for life-threatening sepsis, spent four days on a trolley. She is 82 years old and has dementia. How terrified were that woman and her family?

Deputy Cullinane has a plan. For the love of God, will the Government ever listen to constructive proposals and take them on board? We want to work with the Government and the Minister. If they do not bring us on board, they are failing the people.

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