Brendan Ryan (Labour)

There was a long discussion on radio this morning on the Health and Safety Authority's review of safety in accident and emergency departments. As a sometimes engineer who endeavours to teach people the rudiments of safety, it is shocking to find that a large number of accident and emergency units have been reported to the fire service for rudimentary failures such as blocking emergency exists. There are two separate issues here. One is the scale and capacity of accident and emergency units, which is a serious issue in itself. However, the fact these units are under pressure is no excuse for their managers leaving material in places which threatens public safety and health. This almost sounds like a cracked record, coming back yet again to talk about the health service.

The issue of safety as distinct from the quality of medical care is a profoundly serious one which will result in a major tragedy sooner or later if it is not tackled by legal enforcement or by good management.