Frank Feighan (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

In 2011, promises were made by other politicians that the accident and emergency unit in Roscommon would remain open. Certain events happened and the Mallow report stated accident and emergency units such as those in Mallow and in Roscommon were unsafe. There was a junior hospital doctor crisis, and the consultants in Roscommon hospital wrote a letter stating they could not stand over the safety of the patients in that hospital. There was a vote on a motion tabled by the Sinn Féin party. The motion stated all accident and emergency units in the country should be retained and allowed to remain open. There were 3,000 people outside, mostly from my county. There was very heated, emotive commentary and people wanted me to resign. At the time, I did not stand by the vested interests and the ill-informed political pressure groups but by the people of Roscommon and Leitrim. I gave a strong commitment to secure significant investment for Roscommon hospital. The €8 million investment in the endoscopy unit is part of the €20 million investment earmarked for the hospital. The other flagships are a rehabilitation unit and a hospice care centre.

The 14,000 sq. ft. endoscopy unit is set to become a diagnostic centre for the whole western region. It will facilitate a range of scope procedures for patients, including colonoscopy. It is also hoped the service will be widened to offer bronchoscopy, cystoscopy and range of other scope services. This investment ensures the number of patients being treated in Roscommon will continue to increase. When the unit is open, the hospital will be able to perform three times as many endoscopy procedures. The construction of this major development endorses my public commitment to securing the long-term future of Roscommon County Hospital.

As the only Government Deputy in the constituency, I have exercised my influence at the highest level of government to ensure significant investment in the hospital. Since 2011, I have attended more than 100 meetings, at every level, to ensure the hospital's long-term future. Evidence shows clearly that the Government and I have worked and will continue to work hard to make Roscommon hospital a leading example for all small hospitals around the country. Along with the endoscopy development, the €8 million rehabilitation unit is a very exciting development for the hospital. We will see the construction of a 20-bed, single-room inpatient ward, with integrated therapy spaces, on a greenfield site adjacent to the hospital.

Geographically, Roscommon hospital is ideally located for capital developments. I warmly welcome the development of the 12,000 sq. ft. palliative care centre, which will have not only an eight-bed inpatient centre but also a palliative day-care service, a family support service and a bereavement service. It will serve as a base from which the existing community palliative home care team will operate.

We must not forget that the air ambulance has played a key role in providing critical air support options. It has saved dozens of lives in my county and many hundreds in the past two years. I am delighted it has been made permanent. I was the politician who set up that initiative and the one who helped deliver it with the two Ministers at the time. Any other politicians or vested interests who claimed an interest in this are simply not telling the truth.

With endoscopy services and other services, Roscommon hospital is safer and busier. This is because a high volume of lower-complexity cases have moved to it. People said four years ago that lives would be lost. Not one life has been lost because of the downgrading of Roscommon accident and emergency unit. The only casualty of this has been my political career as a Deputy for Roscommon and Leitrim. If that is a sacrifice that must be made, I am very happy to make it.

The endoscopy unit is ready. It has been passed on from the builders to the HSE or the hospital group. I want to know when the staff will be allocated for this much-needed facility. The people of Roscommon and the hospital management team are waiting on the staff allocation.

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Deputy can be justifiably proud of the contribution he has made in terms of what Roscommon hospital now provides. It is quite incredible. I refer to the transition from what was perceived to be an acute hospital to a different type of service, which sometimes serves communities better.

I thank the Deputy for the opportunity to address the House on this important issue. An allocation of €5.5 million was provided for the building of a new endoscopy unit at Roscommon hospital. The new facility will increase the capacity of the hospital from 16 endoscopy procedures per day to 30 procedures per day, or 6,000 per annum. This new endoscopy unit will provide a significant addition to what is already an impressive range of services at the hospital, including extended day surgery, selected acute medicine, a large range of diagnostic services, specialist rehabilitation medicine and palliative care. More important, it will support the work of the hospital as an approved centre for colorectal screening under the governance of the National Cancer Screening Service.

The endoscopy service at Roscommon hospital is accredited by the joint accreditation group and maintains the highest possible standards of care for its patients. These patient-centred goals are best described by the endoscopy global rating scale, which endeavours to maintain standards in clinical quality, patient experience, workforce and training. These standards contribute significantly to the comfort and dignity afforded to the patient, the timeliness of the procedure, the quality of the procedure and the speed and accuracy of communication with the patient and the referring doctor. Work commenced on the new endoscopy unit at Roscommon hospital last year and I am assured that the construction has progressed well and is on target for completion and commissioning. Funding and staff requirements, including additional nurses and health care assistants, for the new facility have been considered in the context of the 2016 Estimates process and will be addressed as part of the 2016 HSE service plan discussions, which are currently under way.

It is anticipated that the new endoscopy unit at Roscommon hospital will open on a phased basis in 2016, marking a new chapter in the hospital's proud history of providing high-quality care to the people of Roscommon.

The development of this new facility is proof that, despite the pressures and challenges facing our health system - no one would know them better than Deputy Feighan, who raised the issue - this Government is determined to move forward, improve what we are doing and deliver the best possible outcomes for patients.

Frank Feighan (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for her reply. I am very anxious that we will find some way to allocate these staff immediately. I know that takes time, but this issue must be addressed. The Save Roscommon Hospital group needs to consider allocating the staff immediately, because that will indicate clear recognition of what is happening.

I did not know whether to laugh or smile when some of my political colleagues started to complain that because the hospital is so busy, there is not enough parking and they want something done about it. This is the hospital that was supposed to be closed, and now, before this €20 million investment and so on, the hospital is busier than ever.

The consultants and management in the hospital are also supportive of the changes and the delivery of the types of service the Minister mentioned. Two of the consultants have gone on public record to confirm that the hospital is safer and busier. Where are the members of the national media who parked outside our hospital for three or four years interviewing everybody who said that people would die and the proposed closure was awful? I have not seen anyone from RTE come down to my hospital. I have invited them down but they said they would call in when the Minister comes to open the endoscopy unit. I am looking forward to seeing them come down with their cameras, because I am sick and tired listening to the nonsense that the national and local media have spoken in Roscommon for the past four years.

I want to put on the record now that Roscommon hospital is safer, bigger and busier than it was in 2011. Over the past four years it has been said that people will die, but not one person has died. Fifty or 100 lives have been saved, and the only casualty has been Frank Feighan's political career, because the public service and the national media did not do a service to the people of our county. They did not tell the truth when it should have been told. I ask them again to please go back on what they said over the past four years and correct people in terms of whether they were right or wrong. That is all I ask.

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I reaffirm not just what the Deputy said but the fact that the staffing requirements for the Roscommon endoscopy unit are being considered as we speak. Twelve nurses, three administrative staff and four health care assistants will be needed. The revenue cost will be €998,000 - almost €1,000,000 - and the costs to facilitate the opening of the unit in 2016 will be an additional €500,000. The Deputy was right in his original figure.

The situation is becoming easier with regard to recruitment. We do not have a surplus yet, but the situation is improving in terms of our ability to recruit. This time last year it would have been a different story because it would have been much more difficult, but this year it is becoming easier. We are still short, but nevertheless we have managed, in Roscommon in particular. I salute Deputy Feighan's tenacity. We have made significant progress.