Ulick Burke (Fine Gael)

For the past seven years, there have been rumours about the replacement of the existing facilities at St. Brendan's Hospital, Loughrea, County Galway. In the recent past, it housed and provided facilities for some 220 patients. However, given that its buildings were old, with many narrow stairs and so on, health and safety concerns necessitated that, over the years, when patients vacated upstairs facilities, their beds were removed and not replaced. There are now some 120 patients in the hospital and the proposal is that it will, in future, provide facilities for 80 patients.

The hospital has a waiting list of 28 female patients and 25 male patients. Some of these are waiting up to 16 months for access. The physical environment of the hospital makes it difficult for the staff to deliver a quality service. Against all the odds, however, the nursing, medical and other support staff have delivered a first class service as a result of their commitment and dedication to the needs of the elderly patients. Of those elderly from neighbouring areas who have availed of the day care centre adjacent to the hospital and part of its complement of facilities, many want to remain there as full-time patients. It is sad that they cannot get such access.

When the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children visited the hospital recently, she expressed her concerns about the physical conditions and the difficulties under which the staff must work in order to maintain the quality service. She immediately requested that the plans for the hospital be sent to her as she had not seen them. This was two months ago. Action was taken last Friday in order to move the planning process forward to some degree. At what stage of planning and financing is this project and when will the work commence? This is the bottom line. As far back as 1998 we were promised a modern and comprehensive community-based hospital for the elderly in the hinterland of east County Galway with full facilities, including step down facilities, and support mechanisms in terms of staff and so on. With the exception of physiotherapy, none of these are available. There are one or two respite beds in the hospital.

The urgency of this matter cannot be emphasised enough. Senator Kitt will agree that, while health and safety was a concern of the people who worked in those conditions and allowed the situation to develop, something has gone wrong given the decrease in patient numbers from 220 to 120 without alternative accommodation for them. I want to see this situation rectified urgently.