Martin Daly (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish to highlight the urgent need for the long-promised rehabilitation unit at Roscommon University Hospital. In 2015 a commitment was made for a €7.8 million investment to provide 20 dedicated rehabilitation beds, yet despite entering detailed design phase in 2021, the appointment of a design team in 2022 and further design assessments in 2023, the rehab unit was abruptly omitted from the HSE Capital Plan 2024 without explanation.

We face a 50% shortfall in neurorehabilitation beds nationwide with huge geographical disparities in bed availability, which ranges from 6.4 beds per 100,000 people to 45 beds per 100,000 people. I assume the latter applies in the Dublin area. Patients in the west of Ireland are left with limited or delayed access to specialist rehabilitation at a centre remote from them in Dublin. This is resulting in unsuitable care settings and long-term dependency. This is both clinically inappropriate and economically unsustainable.

The evidence is clear that specialised rehabilitation is the most cost-effective intervention. Data from intervention trials for sudden-onset neurological conditions, progressive or intermittent neurological conditions or limb absence show a significant reduction in dependency and ongoing care cost. The greatest savings are in the high-dependency group and the cost of intervention is recouped after only 16 months. This is in stark contrast to late intervention in non-specialised environments, which leads to significantly higher costs for the State. This is not simply a healthcare issue but an economic one. Investing in a dedicated rehabilitation unit in Roscommon University Hospital would be a proven, evidence-based solution that will improve accessibility and patients' outcomes, reduce long-term healthcare dependency and ultimately save the State millions in avoidable disability and ongoing care costs.

In spite of the deep disappointment at the reconfiguration in 2011, Roscommon University Hospital has reimagined itself as a very successful model 2 hospital. It has a successful medical assessment unit, which is a unit of choice for older people in the area. It has a successful regional gastrointestinal endoscopy unit and a minor injuries unit that serves not just Roscommon, but east Galway, Mayo, Longford and Westmeath.

The people of Roscommon-Galway were promised a model 2 hospital that would be developed to its maximum potential. However, the outpatient department, built in 1947, lacks a disabled toilet and adequate wheelchair access, which is astonishing. Given the current emphasis on disability in the programme for Government, one would expect all outpatient departments to be disability-proofed infrastructure.

I urge the Minister of State to expedite this long overdue project and ensure this regional rehabilitation infrastructure is delivered as planned in Roscommon University Hospital. The reasons for choosing Roscommon University Hospital in 2015 could not have changed substantially in the intervening years. The people of Roscommon-Galway deserve a transparent explanation as to why this piece of critical infrastructure appears to have been mothballed.

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