Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

There are only two of us raising this matter. Deputy Gallagher sends his apologies. He got called away yesterday.

As the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, knows, the surgical hub is a key issue in Donegal. The hub has to be delivered in Letterkenny. It is not just a case of trying to ensure we have the resources in the county. We have heard from an unprecedented number of doctors, surgeons and consultants in Letterkenny hospital and they have told us that without the surgical hub there, they are at serious risk of losing accident and emergency services and maternity services within a short period. That is why they and all the politicians in Donegal have come together and made it very clear that we need to see a surgical hub delivered in Letterkenny. This would not be to the detriment of Sligo – we believe the north-west region has been left behind for far too long – but there has to be a location in Letterkenny.

Last Friday, on local radio, we had the Minister for State, Deputy Harkin, who, as we know, was part of the grubby deal with Deputy Lowry to put this Government in place, stated on Highland Radio with Greg Hughes that she secured the location of the surgical hub in Sligo as part of that deal. That is news to us, the TDs who sat across the table from the Minister for about an hour and a half making the case for the surgical hub because the Minister will eventually be the person who decides on the location. It is news to us, having sat repeatedly in meetings with the HSE arguing the toss about why the surgical hub should be in Letterkenny. I am sure it was news to the 160-plus surgeons, consultants and doctors who signed the letter making very reasonable medical arguments for the locations.

I want the Minister of State to come clean today. Has the Department ascertained whether there is any secret deal in respect of the location of this surgical hub? That clarity is needed. Has the Minister approached Deputy Marian Harkin to get clarity in this regard? I would like the Minister for Health to listen to the concerns of the TDs here. As I said, Deputy Gallagher would have liked to have been here as well. This is a cross-party issue because the issues in Donegal are so important. As I said to the Minister, if she makes the decision based on the facts, there is no doubt that the surgical hub will be located in Letterkenny. We need that decision urgently but, most importantly, we need the right decision.

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

All we are asking for in Donegal is fair play. We are not asking for special treatment; we are asking that our citizens do not have to travel long distances for care that should be provided in their own community. We are asking that our emergency services not be allowed to collapse and that we have the necessary number of surgeons and consultants in Letterkenny University Hospital. If there is to be only one surgical hub for the north-west region, a huge region extending from the top of Donegal down into Roscommon, I imagine, and that hub is not in Letterkenny, it will be a disaster for County Donegal and our services. Those are not my words but those of the consultants. A presentation made to TDs was extremely concerning. The Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, is very aware of that and I thank her for engaging at the meeting last night. We need to have absolute clarity today that no deal has been done on this.

To be clear, in Donegal we are not into divide and conquer. We want Sligo and Letterkenny to have a surgical hub. We want all of the people to be treated the same. We want equal services for all of our people. The HSE has pulled services away into Galway and neglected Donegal for a long time but we are not turning this into a Sligo versus Donegal issue. We want a surgical hub and equal access for all our people. We want clarity, following the intervention from Deputy Harkin, that a deal has not been done, there will be fairness for the people of Donegal, all of the doctors and consultants will be listened to and the facts and evidence on the ground about population numbers and demand will be listened to.

The final message is this. We, in Donegal, will not be neglected anymore. This is a cross-party matter now. We will not accept second-class citizenship. This issue has united us like no other health matter has done before. It needs to be sorted out. We need clarity today that we are going to get fairness in all of this.

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I thank Deputies Doherty and Mac Lochlainn for raising this issue. I understand the apology made by our colleague, Deputy Pat the Cope Gallagher. I recognise the Deputies' dedication to the people of Donegal and to the issue.

I will first address the issue of locations for the surgical hubs. The programme for Government commits to establishing six new hubs, in south Dublin, north Dublin, Galway, Cork, Limerick and Waterford, and exploring the provision of an additional surgical hub for the north west. The programme for Government also committed to developing new elective treatment centres in Cork, Galway and Dublin, significantly increasing our capacity to deliver elective care and driving down waiting times for everyone. Developments at the named surgical hub sites are well under way. Building on the success of the Reeves day surgery unit in Tallaght, the Minister for Health opened a new surgical unit in Mount Carmel in south Dublin in February and we expect the rest to become operational over the next 18 months.

The Minister is clear that no matter where these new facilities are located, everyone should have access to sufficient and appropriate elective surgical capacity. The hubs, along with the new elective treatment centres, will form a national network of elective care. This will enable the delivery of care for all patients, not just those living in a particular location or catchment area. No decision has yet been made on the location of the north-west surgical hub and the Minister is taking time to consider and understand the situation in Donegal. This includes engagement with local representatives, doctors and consultants. I know she was due to meet some of them last night. She remains committed to positively engaging with everyone who is interested in delivering the best healthcare for the people of Donegal.

Turning to Letterkenny University Hospital in particular, the Government is committed to the ongoing development of the hospital and has allocated significant resources to meet the needs of patients there. This has included an increase in the hospital's budget by 57% over the last five years. In that time we have also seen staffing grow by 25% and 28 new beds have been opened. Recent capital projects completed at Letterkenny University Hospital include an extension to the laboratory and works in the acute mental health unit. Several capital projects are under way, including the expansion of the renal department, a pharmacy aseptic unit, a new heating centre and a range of projects to increase capacity. Construction is also under way of a 110-bed community hospital in Letterkenny, representing an investment of €52 million for the enhancement of services for older people.

Letterkenny University Hospital has also expressed plans for four key infrastructural projects, which form part of a development control plan within the HSE west and north-west health region. These projects include bed expansion, emergency and urgent care capacity, critical care capacity and an ambulatory care block. We understand these plans are being developed by the hospital and will need to be further considered by the HSE before a decision can be made on their inclusion in the capital programme. I hope the Deputies can see we are committed to the people of Donegal. I look forward to continued engagement on these issues.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I thank the Minister of State for his response. He says no decision has been made yet. Will he give clarity in his response? It is not just Deputy Harkin who has gone on local radio to say this; the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Healy-Rae has also gone on and said she has secured this. We now have two Ministers of State who make up the formation of the Government saying it. Does one hand know what the other is doing? Has the Minister for Health or the Department clarified with Deputy Harkin whether a deal exists - as she claims - or not? Is this just the Minister of State suggesting that he has no knowledge of a deal within the Department? They are two different things. We would like clarification on that. Outside of a deal or not, this decision has to be made on the merits and the facts. As Deputy Mac Lochlainn has said, there is absolutely no way we are going to allow this to happen. The surgical hub not being delivered in Letterkenny is not just about resources not coming to Donegal. It is about the accident and emergency department closing down in the future, maternity services closing down and our hospital being downgraded. Those are not my words; they are the words of those on the front line. We will not accept it. That is why the Minister of Health must make the right decision on the basis of facts.

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

This could not be more serious. As the Minister of State will know from his Government colleagues, we have been told this very clearly. These doctors and consultants have said publicly on local radio that our emergency services could be lost. Imagine us losing an emergency department in Letterkenny University Hospital. That is how serious our surgical services have gotten to. We are down to three permanent surgeons; it was six not that long ago. We cannot attract the level of surgeons we need. If the Minister decides the surgical hub for the north-west is in one place, Sligo, it is just a death knell. It is extremely serious. I have never seen 171 doctors, consultants and GPs, sign a letter. I do not know anywhere in this State where this has happened. That is how serious this is. I will reiterate that we are not playing the game of divide and conquer. Sligo, the north-west, Donegal and all of us deserve this. There is an absolute unique case now for a surgical hub in Letterkenny and Sligo to be delivered at exactly the same time to have the quality of services our people deserve, to protect what we have and to protect our emergency services. This is where it is at. We need that clarity between the Minister for Health and Deputy Harkin and a public statement of clarification. If it is two surgical hubs that is fine but the Government should not play divide and conquer. It needs to get its act together on this issue.

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Again, I thank Deputies Doherty and Mac Lochlainn for raising the issue. I will take back exactly what they have said regarding Letterkenny University Hospital.

The information I have is very clear. No decision has been made on the location of the north-west surgical hubs. I understand meetings were held and there was engagement with the Minister last night on this issue. I hear what the Deputies are saying about the challenges in Letterkenny and Donegal, and I will bring that back to the Department and the Minister. I cannot be clearer than what was in the statement I have in front of me from the Department. I understand the issues the Deputies have raised. Without labouring the point, I will take the points the Deputies raised back to the Department and seek clarification for them.