Geraldine Feeney (Fianna Fail)

The Joint Committee on Health and Children is very busy. There are other bodies it must engage with in order to hear everybody's view. It is not the fault of the Tánaiste or Professor Drumm that the committee does not have more time for them to appear before it.

The accident and emergency consultants appeared before the committee two weeks ago. They argued that the solution is more beds but Professor Drumm does not seem to agree with that analysis. I thought to myself that day, but was not brave enough to say it aloud, that they were very quick to hang one of their own. Their attitude was that Professor Drumm would not know anything about beds because he was a paediatric consultant. However, when Professor Drumm was first appointed, all the consultants shouted loudly about what an excellent appointment it was and how they looked forward to working with him.

When the Tánaiste and Professor Drumm appeared before the committee, they talked about the problems in accident and emergency, as was to be expected. They also talked about the need for other health care professionals to work out of hours. There is no point in having an X-ray or pathology department in a major hospital that only operates from 8.30 a.m. to 5 p.m. because people do not get sick according to such schedules. There are many factors affecting accident and emergency units.

I wish to speak briefly about my own experience in Sligo General Hospital, a hospital of which I am very proud. All of the departments in the hospital are run very well by experienced, senior personnel. A sum of €1.5 million has been pledged to revamp our accident and emergency unit. I should tell the Minister of State that we still look forward to receiving that money. It was promised approximately 18 months ago. The accident and emergency department has a throughput of approximately 30,000 patients a year and two consultants. Those consultants are extremely stretched.

Sligo General Hospital is always compared with Letterkenny General Hospital. I spoke to a few accident and emergency consultants today and they stated it is bad to compare one accident and emergency unit with another. It may involve comparing a mediocre accident and emergency unit with a unit not quite as up to scratch, which delays the progress of the first accident and emergency unit.

While we are happy with our accident and emergency unit in Sligo, we would like it to be revamped and brought up to the standards of modern day medicine. It is approximately 12 or 15 years old. I know the money is there to do so. We would like a dedicated X-ray unit for the accident and emergency department and appropriate standards for a resuscitation unit. The accident and emergency department in Sligo has a small resuscitation unit, just off the main corridor. It is neither nice nor private that the main accident and emergency unit traffic flows up and down outside while someone's family member is being resuscitated.

The hospital requires a better IT system, and not merely a billing and registration system. It should include patient profile, length of stay and the type of patient who is readmitted. Approximately 80 patients per day go through the accident and emergency unit, which has 12 clinical spaces. Overcrowding occurs at certain times and creates huge pressure when it does. The busy times in Sligo are late morning to early afternoon and early evening to late at night. Weekends do not seem to be that serious.

Senator Feighan stated that the Government should take on board the good proposals coming from Fine Gael. I would be first to agree, and no one in the Government parties of the PDs or Fianna Fáil would object to it. Senator Browne mentioned that the Tánaiste stated some people in accident and emergency units should not be there. Perhaps that is so. However, the consultants I spoke with today felt that Fine Gael's proposal, made at its Ard-Fheis this weekend, to have a unit where drunks or people abusing drugs would be put to sleep it off or chill out was serious and dangerous. They felt it showed no understanding by the Fine Gael Party and the party had received bad advice.

The consultants would like to see a safe and appropriate setting for a person who is drunk or under the influence of an illegal substance. That is what is required. They considered the entire idea of fining someone attending in that state to be ludicrous and daft. It is difficult enough to obtain the €60 fee from these people, never mind asking them to pay a fine. It will not work. I say to Senator Feighan that we would take those ideas on board if they were workable, but they are not. Fine Gael would complain if somebody died in such a unit, not having received proper medical care. Perhaps when someone is shouting and going mad, they are doing so as a result of an injury. I would also like to see accident and emergency departments having a small space dedicated as a unit for children.