Seanad debates
Wednesday, 25 June 2003
Council Regulation on Procedures for amending the Sirene Manual: Referral to Joint Committee. - Health Service Reform: Statements (Resumed).
Some time ago Senator Norris and another Senator tabled a motion pertaining to the inappropriate occupancy of acute psychiatric beds in the Eastern Health Board region. They were so right. If this reform eliminates inappropriate bed occupancy, especially in the acute psychiatric services and accident emergency units, it will have done a good job. Our general hospitals have become general hostels and our psychiatric hospitals psychiatric hostels where people come in willy-nilly, disrupt the service in acute units, get bed and breakfast and head off the following morning, leaving a trail of disarray and a broken night's sleep for those who have serious psychiatric difficulties or other severe illnesses. If the Minister's proposals do anything to eliminate this problem, I will welcome them. They will do much more than this.
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