Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, for taking this matter. I acknowledge it is an issue the Minister of State is aware of but it is important to raise it again. I am far from being the only person who has raised it. I know that Deputies Brendan Smith and Cahill previously raised this issue. The Minister of State will have met a constituent of mine who highlighted to me the issue. One hears about waiting lists and about difficulties in the health system but it really brings it home when one sees the impact that it has on people. Perhaps I am not very good at understanding situations until I see them. The waiting lists that exist in Ireland for scoliosis and similar problems that children suffer from are simply unacceptable in any First World country. We are talking about a relatively small sum of money - and I appreciate that we are often talking about such small sums of money - but it is probably not a small sum of money, as it is €72 million. In normal times, that would be a very large sum of money. In Covid-19 times, however, money almost becomes no object when we just throw money at problems. I am not here to talk about Covid-19 or waste in that regard but I am here to talk about the very significant impact that these procedures have.

The constituent of mine that the Minister of State met was one of the lucky ones because he was one of those who were most severely affected. Because he was very severely affected, he eventually received treatment. He spent the first number of years of his life unable to walk or stand. It is simply unacceptable that we vest that upon our children because we take extraordinary measures to try to protect people from that from which we cannot protect them, which is something like a pandemic, but we take such few measures to try to deal with that which is eminently treatable in the most countries.

Just last week, the surgical procedures for children on that waiting list were stopped again in Temple Street Children’s University Hospital. This is not a criticism of Temple Street in any way. I appreciate that resources are greatly stretched.

I visited a children's hospital recently. There has been a significant increase in respiratory virus, RV, which would not have a particular impact on me or the Minister of State, but has a significant impact on children. It is simply not good enough that the treatment of children is being stalled in this way, given the impact it has on their lives.

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for the opportunity to discuss Cappagh hospital and orthopaedics. I acknowledge my colleagues, Deputies Brendan Smith, Cahill and McAuliffe, who brought me to Cappagh hospital and gave me the opportunity to see at first hand what the Deputy has articulated to me. The Deputies also gave me the opportunity to meet the mother of the Deputy's young constituent, and I also met one of Deputy Cahill's constituents.

Deputy McNamara is right. It is not until one comes face to face with a parent who can very clearly outline the exact impact this has on the development of the child and his or her opportunity of attending school that one fully appreciates it. It prevents the child from being equal with his or her peers, whether in the community or just in the course of the ordinary accessing of services. What I discovered from Cappagh hospital was the opportunity to progress and have development.

In speaking about Cappagh hospital, it would be remiss of me not to reference Mr. Connor Green and the phenomenal work he has done with the tools at his disposal to work between the various hospitals. When I was out at Cappagh hospital, I visited Cappagh Kids. We in this House may talk about separate rooms and isolation and everything else, but that is not what is afforded to the patients in Cappagh Kids. Those involved in that initiative actually provided space to be able to carry out those surgeries.

It is my understanding that in 2021 €1.64 million was provided to Cappagh hospital under the access to care plan to assist with some of those who have been waiting for a long time. I know the hospital has an application in this year for €2.6 million to address that as well. It may be the case that some departmental officials and others need to understand how Cappagh hospital works. It does not have enough high-dependency units to drill down and do more of those surgeries. The ask of the hospital is that it would be supported with €88 million to provide two extra theatres and nine high-dependency beds. By having those sorts of beds, the hospital could become the centre of excellence for orthopaedic surgery not just in the Ireland East Hospital Group, but a centre of excellence in delivery for all of Ireland because we have some of the best physicians there. That also supports hospitals such as those at Temple Street and Crumlin, as well as Children's Health Ireland.

While votes were taking place in the Dáil earlier, I spoke to the Minister for Health and asked him to accompany us on a visit to Cappagh Hospital to see it first hand and to see Cappagh Kids in operation. He would meet Mr. Green and the clinical team there to understand why the hospital should be a stand-alone elective hospital for orthopaedics and a centre of excellence on the east coast. I plead with the HSE, in the context of its capital plan and the applications it is sending in, that while consideration is being given hospitals in Cork and Galway, when Dublin is being considered, perhaps there is a need for Cappagh hospital to be a centre of excellence in orthopaedic care on the east coast. It is structurally located near an exit off a main motorway and there is access land, so even if a modular unit is not going to be built straight away, it could be converted. It is important to acknowledge the recruitment challenges within the HSE.

Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. I am glad to hear that the Minister for Health will go with her. I have often wondered whether we should have a Minister for Health and a Minister for Covid response. I do not agree with the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, but I appreciate that he must be completely overwhelmed with the Covid response and the requirement to restructure and refocus the healthcare system still exists and pertains. I am delighted to hear he is able to find the time to go to Cappagh hospital and see what they do. I think one needs to see the children who are being treated, but also the children who are not being treated, to understand the priority of this issue. When mentioning Deputies Brendan Smith and Cahill, I did not mean to exclude Deputy McAuliffe. All I can say is that I hope the Deputies are able to prevail on the Minister for Health and impress on him how important this issue is and that maybe something good can come out of it. It is important that those at Cappagh hospital be able to continue their important work and it is very important for the development of children that they are not suffering from debilitating conditions that are so eminently treatable.

I appreciate that it is a lot of money, but it is not a huge amount in the context of even the general health budget, much less the health budget we have now. It is good news that the Minister is at least going to the hospital and I hope he will be as struck as the Minister of State clearly has been by the impact this investment might make. Ultimately, in a Department such as the Department of Health, the Minister holds the purse strings. I hope he will be able to announce something positive.

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

It is important to state that, as with all capital projects, this project must progress through the various stages of public spending code and the HSE's capital project manuals and approval protocols in the first instance. The project is currently at a strategic assessment stage and its progress is subject to approval and availability of funding. It is also important to state, however, that decisions are currently being made in respect of elective hospitals. The National Treatment Purchase Fund, NTPF, funding does not support these children because we cannot outsource them across the border or send them to other countries for care for the simple reason that the HSE has clearly stated that the outsourcing of spinal patients to external providers in the UK and Europe has not been overly successful as spinal patients often require additional follow-up and management of post-operative complications. These factors are compounded by the difficulties associated with travel overseas by patients, especially now during Covid. Although the Government is committed to the NTPF and wants to ensure the waiting list can come down, there is no short cut to supporting these families apart from having an elective service providing start-to-finish delivery of care under one roof. That cannot be on an ad hocbasis. I look forward to the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, joining me. I thank all the Deputies involved for their support on this. It is one of the topics on which Deputies from all parties and none are united in wanting to get a solution.