Seanad debates

Wednesday, 22 October 2003

National Task Force on Medical Staffing: Statements.

 

10:30 am

Photo of Ulick BurkeUlick Burke (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Senator because he has, like me, a very important interest in Portiuncula Hospital in that constituency.

Will the Minister of State confirm that if the conditions in the pilot areas, including his own health board area, are replicated in other areas, Portiuncula Hospital will be downgraded and we will also lose the accident and emergency and maternity units? These two specialties, among many in the acute hospital, are in themselves centres of excellence. They were developed by committed people, such as the Franciscan Sisters, over the years in the private hospital with their dedication to delivering a service of excellence in its own right. The Minister should not deny that area, where the local community, in the absence of Government commitments, funded the hospital through many fundraising projects to bring it to the standard of excellence it enjoys today.

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