Ulick Burke (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. My matter is to ask the Minister for Health and Children to indicate if, following her recent visit to St. Brendan's Hospital, Loughrea, County Galway, she is in a position to allow the plans submitted to her Department to advance to the next stage so that overcrowding and health and safety issues are complied with at this hospital for the elderly.

An excellent service has been provided at the hospital for patients through the years by dedicated medical, nursing and administrative staff. The problem in the hospital is that much of the accommodation is located on the upper level. When the Minister visited, she saw 32 immobile patients who are cared for in an upstairs unit, which is unsatisfactory. Following a recent fire risk assessment, it was indicated that this was an area of great concern to the management and staff of the hospital. As a result, the provision of additional accommodation at ground floor level was made a priority.

As far back as 2000, the Western Health Board indicated, under the national development plan, that St. Brendan's was a priority for funding to provide a 40-bed extension. Plans were approved by the previous Minister for Health and Children in 2003 but nothing has happened since. It is unfair on the management, staff and patients that they have been left in limbo. The number of patients in the hospital has declined steadily over the years because, as people died, their beds were removed, particularly those in the upper levels. Those beds were taken down, particularly those at the upper levels in the hospital. We currently have very serious waiting lists in the Loughrea area. I understand 35 females and 20 males are awaiting admission, all of them very elderly. It is important to note that in the west we have the highest percentage of elderly people — approximately 14%, which is far above the national average. That gap is increasing, which means there is increasing demand for the provision of such places.

It was proposed that a 40-bed unit be provided. Some 35 of those beds would be standard hospital beds, with five respite beds and one palliative care unit. Over the years, it was to have progressed in stages to an 80-bed unit for an extension to replace the existing hospital. The old hospital was previously a workhouse. It served its purpose well in the past but now, because of fire regulations and the advancing need for greater care for the elderly, it is important that we delay no longer. The Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney, saw it herself and was astonished at the situation there. I ask that the plans, which have been with the Department since 2003, be advanced so that progress towards finalisation and completion of the proposed unit might be made.