Results 7,501-7,520 of 24,635 for speaker:Mary Harney

Hospital Services: Motion (10 Feb 2009)

Mary Harney: I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: "—strongly endorses the Government's commitment to patient safety, quality and fairness as the priorities in the delivery of health services throughout the country; supports the Government's view that fairness to patients throughout the country requires that all patients should have access to...

Hospital Services: Motion (10 Feb 2009)

Mary Harney: Will Deputy Reilly reflect on it?

Hospital Services: Motion (10 Feb 2009)

Mary Harney: If Deputy Reilly is not man enough to withdraw what he said, that reflects more on him than it does on me.

Hospital Services: Motion (10 Feb 2009)

Mary Harney: In his contribution, Deputy Crawford accused me of acting with "undue haste". It is worth quoting something that was said in this House more than 30 years ago, after the publication of the FitzGerald report, which recommended the kind of approach that is now being adopted. The then Minister for Health, Brendan Corish, said that there could be "no more delays or equivocation" as it was not...

Hospital Services: Motion (10 Feb 2009)

Mary Harney: The reorganisation of our hospital services around patient safety has always been put on the political conveyer belt. In his contribution, Deputy Reilly invited the Ministers of State, Deputies Hoctor and Killeen, as well as Deputies Dooley and Lowry — I do not think Deputy Collins was mentioned — to put their people before their party, or words to that effect.

Hospital Services: Motion (10 Feb 2009)

Mary Harney: I will deal with the issues raised by Deputy Connaughton.

Hospital Services: Motion (10 Feb 2009)

Mary Harney: The only issue at stake during the reorganisation of services in the mid-west is patient safety, rather than money.

Hospital Services: Motion (10 Feb 2009)

Mary Harney: That is the dynamic that is driving reform. That is why the surgeons in the mid-west region support this reform. We are being asked to keep open the accident and emergency departments in Nenagh and Ennis even though there is no emergency consultant in either hospital.

Hospital Services: Motion (10 Feb 2009)

Mary Harney: The accident and emergency unit in Nenagh deals with an average of six or seven patients each night and the equivalent unit in Ennis deals with an average of nine patients each night. Can Deputy Reilly, as a doctor, stand over that? The units are not staffed by doctors who are trained in emergency medicine. The staff of the units do not even report to emergency consultants, surgeon...

Hospital Services: Motion (10 Feb 2009)

Mary Harney: I am simply saying they do not have specialist training.

Hospital Services: Motion (10 Feb 2009)

Mary Harney: I did not devise this reform in my Department with my officials, or in conjunction with the HSE. This reform is being driven by medical evidence of what is in the best interests of delivering good outcomes for patients.

Hospital Services: Motion (10 Feb 2009)

Mary Harney: I remind Deputy Reilly, who may wish to challenge that assertion, that I can quote from many reports, including a World Health Organisation report, in support of it. When Deputy Reilly and I participated in a discussion on RTE the other night, we watched a film clip in which Dr. O'Donnell spoke about an increase of 25% in mortality rates. The World Health Organisation has estimated that the...

Hospital Services: Motion (10 Feb 2009)

Mary Harney: I do not believe there is a single Deputy in this House who would not take his or her loved one to such a hospital.

Hospital Services: Motion (10 Feb 2009)

Mary Harney: As Minister for Health and Children, I am part of a Government that has a responsibility——

Hospital Services: Motion (10 Feb 2009)

Mary Harney: I listened to the Deputy.

Hospital Services: Motion (10 Feb 2009)

Mary Harney: We have a responsibility to make sure we do not continue with a status quo that does not give patients a chance to enjoy the best possible outcomes, particularly in respect of surgical procedures. By international standards, we have enough people with specialist knowledge in anaesthetics and surgery to deliver emergency surgery in the mid-west region. There are more than 400 hospital...

Hospital Services: Motion (10 Feb 2009)

Mary Harney: We are simply trying to give patients in the mid-west the best chance to enjoy good outcomes when they need to avail of surgery or emergency medicine.

Hospital Services: Motion (10 Feb 2009)

Mary Harney: Notwithstanding Deputy O'Donnell's contribution, I note that the Fine Gael motion does not mention keeping emergency services in St. John's Hospital, or extending them to seven days. I understand that the HSE is in discussions with the hospital authorities on that matter.

Hospital Services: Motion (10 Feb 2009)

Mary Harney: That was not referred to in the motion. Deputy Reilly mentioned the reference to 135 beds in the Teamwork-Howarth report. The report said that 135 beds would be needed if the specialist orthopaedic hospital in Croom and the stand-alone maternity hospital were to be closed, and we were not to have elective procedures in Ennis and Nenagh. As we are not doing those things, we do not need 135...

Hospital Services: Motion (10 Feb 2009)

Mary Harney: That was not envisaged in the Teamwork-Howarth report. We are not closing the stand-alone maternity hospital or the orthopaedic hospital in Croom. That is why the issue of the 135 beds does not arise. In the context of a debate on a matter as important as this — it was chosen as the subject of Fine Gael's Private Members' time — we should deal with the facts that are before us. The...