Kevin O'Keeffe (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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I am delighted to have the opportunity to raise this important issue in the House. I thank the Ceann Comhairle. Just over a week ago, the Sonas Ward at St. Patrick's Community Hospital, Fermoy was closed by the HSE. The ward consisted of 12 beds, where eight patients were receiving either respite or convalescent care while the remaining four patients were long-term permanent residents of the hospital. Those who were receiving respite and convalescent care were taken in on a short-stay basis, which normally rotates fortnightly. The ward also provided for those who required acute patient care.

Staff at the hospital were informed that the closure of the ward would be temporary and that some element of a service may be resumed in September. However, many hospital staff believe this will not be the case, and the ward may remain closed for the foreseeable future and even permanently. This is due to the pressure on staffing levels that exists in the hospital. It was because of the lack of staff in the hospital that the Sonas ward was ultimately closed. St. Patrick's Community Hospital, Fermoy has experienced problems relating to a lack of staff for some time. Staff shortages have meant that many of the current crop of the hospital's staff have been forced to work extra hours, meaning they were overworked, tired and unable to perform to the best of their ability owing to the fatigue that many of them began to suffer. The crisis has worsened over the past 12 months in that when some staff requested that their hours be reduced, this was refused and some chose to take early retirement. This further added to staffing issues at the hospital. At present, only three nurses are working in each of the remaining wards. Everybody knows that many other small hospitals, similar to St. Patrick's Community Hospital, Fermoy, suffer from staffing issues. However, the concern of staff in Fermoy is that there has been no drive recently to recruit new staff.

The closure of the ward will have a serious effect on Fermoy and its surrounding areas. The closure of the ward will cause serious stress to full-time carers in the area who have relied on the ward's service for respite for the people for whom they were caring and for themselves. At a time when there is great pressure on home help services, the closure of the ward adds further unnecessary pressure on those who require these specialist services.

Any argument by the Health Information and Quality Authority, HIQA, that the ward is not fit for purpose is without foundation. In January 2016, the then Minister of State, Kathleen Lynch, allocated St. Patrick's Community Hospital €2 million in funding under the Government's capital spending programme from 2016 to 2021. This was to ensure that the best facilities were available for the residents and their families. I would like to know when St. Patrick's Community Hospital will be able to avail of this funding. Was it just a ploy during the election? Will the Minister of State give a commitment that the closure of Sonas ward at St. Patrick's Community Hospital is only a temporary measure and that it will be reopened at the earliest possible date? Will she will address the lack of full-time staff and staff shortages at St. Patrick's Community Hospital, Fermoy at the earliest date possible?

Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue. I also convey the apologies of the Minister, Deputy Harris, and the Minister of State, Deputy McEntee, for being unavoidably absent. I hope the Deputy with be happy that I am responding. The overarching policy of the Government is to support older people to live in dignity and independence in their homes and communities for as long as possible. This is clearly what older people and their families want, and only those in genuine need of residential care should go down that route.

Short-term beds, including respite and rehabilitation beds, contribute to the provision of an integrated model of care for older people, enabling them to return home following a period of hospital care or postponing admission to a long-stay residential care setting.

The HSE is responsible for the delivery of health and personal social services, including those at facilities such as St. Patrick's Community Hospital, Fermoy. The community hospital provides long-term, respite, convalescent and palliative care. It was registered with the Health Information and Quality Authority on 28 June 2015 for a period of three years, with a maximum occupancy of 72 beds. The hospital normally caters for people over 65 years of age, but also provides care to young chronic sick patients and palliative care to adults.

Following a number of unexpected staff absences and early retirements, at present Fermoy community hospital does not have sufficient nursing staff to maintain safely the full range of services. Therefore, the HSE decided to close temporarily the 12-bed Sonas ward. The beds closed on 6 July. This temporary reduction will affect beds used for short-stay services and is expected to remain in place until the end of August. The nursing homes support office is working with local public health nurses in facilitating those patients who normally avail of respite in Fermoy to access respite in other facilities nearby.

The Minister and the Department have been assured by the HSE that this is a temporary measure only, which I know is the main point of concern for Deputy O'Keeffe. A recruitment campaign for nursing staff is in progress. Interviews which were originally to take place in early August have been brought forward to next week. Offers will be made to successful candidates as soon as possible, and it will then depend on how soon they are available to take up duty. I hope it will be as soon as possible after they are offered positions.

The director of nursing and the general manager have met staff representatives to explain why the decision needed to be taken and to outline the steps being taken to reopen the beds by the end of August. The House is aware the management of resources and service planning are matters for the HSE in the first instance. Quality care and patient safety come first, and the HSE is obliged to take the appropriate steps for the management of patient profiles and the staffing resources available. The HSE has confirmed there is no intention to close services at Fermoy, which I know the Deputy will welcome. This temporary measure was taken in the best interests of safety and maintaining services to long-stay residents and those availing of short-stay beds.

My colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy McEntee, will continue to monitor this situation carefully, and has asked the HSE to keep her and the Minister updated on progress. I hope this answer is helpful to the Deputy.

Kevin O'Keeffe (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for her response. She hit the nail on the head with the last sentence of first paragraph with regard to ensuring we keep our elderly at home as much as possible. However, we need to give respite to the carers and family members who mind them, which is why we need the beds in the hospital to be kept open.

Fermoy has taken a hit with regard to the provision of community beds for elderly people. Under the previous Government we lost between 35 and 40 beds with the closure of the St. Francis Welfare Home. This was a big hit to the town of Fermoy and its catchment area. With regard to the loss of the beds, it is all fine to say we are moving to private nursing homes, but the Minister of State must admit the community hospitals also provide ancillary facilities such as physiotherapists and occupational therapists. This is why it is important to keep community hospitals up and running.

I am concerned, and I am open to correction, but I feel that as well as the staff being overworked, a conflict has arisen between staff, management and the HSE and that morale is a bit low. I would like the Minister of State to investigate this. More should be put in place because while the staff are working hard, they should have the goodwill of the entire HSE management behind them.

Previous Government investment in the hospital must be acknowledged. The first time I went to Fermoy community hospital was back in 1980 as a member of the Legion of Mary, and by God it was not somewhere one would have liked to have walked through.

We used to visit other nursing homes in Fermoy, but Fermoy Community Hospital was the last choice on the list. However, down through the years - excuse me for the pun - people have been dying to get into St. Patrick's Community Hospital in Fermoy because the facilities have been so well upgraded. I thank the Minister of State for her response and her interest. I hope these wards can be opened and up and running again as soon as possible.

Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy is right that the whole idea of respite beds is that the family at home, while they love their loved ones and want to care for them at home because that is their wish, needs a break. That is why it is critical that the HSE put in place alternative respite beds so that the families can continue to avail of the opportunity for respite. However, the other aspect of it is that there is a challenge in that older people like routine, they like knowing where they are going, they are used to it and they are used to the staff, so that certainly poses a challenge. That is why the HSE is committed to restoring the services so that people can get back to normal as soon as possible. The key thing here is the recruitment of the staff and getting the required number of nurses into the hospital as soon as possible. That is exactly the direction in which the HSE is going.

To make a general point on the kind of investment that has been secured for community nursing units, the Deputy put his finger on the title of it when he referred to community nursing units and public nursing unit. They are essential to the delivery of care for our older people and people who need palliative care or whatever across the country. We have secured €385 million in capital funding for a programme to replace and refurbish public nursing units across the country. I know the Deputy will welcome this because it will provide an additional 200 beds. The programme includes refurbishment works for Fermoy, the area about which the Deputy is most concerned, which should be finished by 2018.

Kevin O'Keeffe (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State.