Ulick Burke (Fine Gael)

In the past three weeks an old age pensioner suffering from Parkinson's disease was admitted to a hospital in the west. During his stay there he was infected with MRSA. It took some time for the hospital authorities to admit that the patient had been so infected.

On his discharge, the patient, who holds a medical card, was told that the best items to cure the infection were not available to him on the medical card system. Given that the infection arose in the hospital, it should be the responsibility of the hospital to provide the best and most effective remedy. The Minister for Health and Children should so direct the hospital and that should be done in all such cases nationwide.