Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I do not doubt that the Minister of State’s statement that all residents will remain in the care of the HSE is true. Unfortunately, the transfer on a like-for-like basis will not actually be like for like. For example, it jumps out at me immediately that there is a 24-7 medical team on site in Cherry Orchard. A GP will only be present one day per week in the Bartra Healthcare centre in Clondalkin. If our fathers or mothers were residents in Cherry Orchard and got sick there, they would go to the hospital they normally attended. For most residents, that would be St. James’s Hospital. If they got sick in Clondalkin, they would be sent to Tallaght, a place they have not attended and where their records are not kept. They may be in the care of the HSE in theory but the truth is there will not be like-for-like care.

The Minister of State has repeated that there is no immediate hazard to residents. I appeal to her to put a halt to this transfer so that we can dig deeper and ask more questions. For example, is it not a conflict of interest that one of the chief movers and shakers in Bartra Healthcare in Clondalkin is a former HIQA inspector?

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