Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)

I wish to raise real concerns about Mayo University Hospital. The Minister for Health will know that last month the hospital was in a crisis situation, experiencing over 160 presentations daily despite the fact that just four or five nurses were rostered on a given day. This month we are way off peak in terms of the winter period but Mayo University Hospital has been forced to cancel elective procedures. That is how bad things have become. We are experiencing a significant and dangerous level of understaffing. In August, a patient was in the back of an ambulance for over 13 hours. That is a verified story that the Minister will be aware of because she attended the hospital on that week.

There has been an audit done in relation to safe staffing. I have researched this audit. My understanding from speaking to Saolta and the management group is that this could provide an additional 30 nurses who are desperately needed for the hospital in Mayo. It must be sanctioned. The audit is there; it is sitting in the HSE. I am asking and pleading with the Minister, on behalf of all of the doctors and nurses who are worked off their feet, working under incredibly difficult situations and experiencing burnout on a daily basis, to implement the safe staffing framework as quickly as possible. I want her to do it this week, if possible. It could take several weeks to get those people on the ground.

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