Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I want to bring to the Tánaiste's attention the spate of outpatient appointment cancellations in a hospital in County Kildare. In Naas General Hospital, for the months of January, February, March and April, there have been a total of 2,678 appointment cancellations. I do not lay the blame on the brilliant staff but on the Government because it rejected our motion to tackle hospital waiting lists and I implore the Government to act on it now. At the heart of this issue are people we represent; our families, neighbours and friends. They are not mere statistics; they are people who need care and their lives are waiting on that care. We need to address this issue now. That is not to mention the medical staff. They are all over the place and they are overworked, due to the staffing shortages. I want to know what the Government is going to do to fix this problem.

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