Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)

I appreciate the Minister's update. It is positive that the management is meeting with the surgeons to try to deal with this situation. I spoke to some of the surgeons, who are extremely frustrated. They want to do their job but they cannot do it effectively in the facilities they have. There are only eight elective orthopaedic beds in the ward, which must be shared between the patients of six consultants. The situation is not fit for purpose in the long term. We need to look at how to deal with this. The surgeons pointed out a number of issues to me, including that the ward is too small, the whole theatre complex is too small and there is no storage space for equipment, with boxes and plant kept elsewhere and surgical implements in danger of contamination because they must be moved into and out of the ward. There is a whole range of issues. New doors were put in that were too heavy for the walls, which are very old and are not fit for purpose. We really need to see a plan for how we will replace the surgical theatre for the future. That plan needs to be brought forward with urgency.

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