Phil Prendergast (Labour)

The proposal to close the accident and emergency unit in the Mercy Hospital in Cork from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. from 1 June will have a significant impact on the waiting times for patients in the second largest accident and emergency unit in the country in Cork University Hospital, which, as we were told yesterday, has the second largest neurosurgical department in the country. The current waiting times for patients in that accident and emergency unit is approximately 14 hours. The additional 7,000 attendances that will be visited upon that unit in Cork University Hospital because of the closure of the unit in the other hospital signifies a lack of planning in the area. The Government needs to be aware that there are significantly more patients on trolleys in hospitals than there were this time two years ago and that there has been a significant increase in that number since the embargo was put in place on 4 September last. Is the Government prepared to name the accident and emergency units that will close due to the lack of a consultant on their hospital staff?

I also want to raise the issue of Crumlin hospital, the largest tertiary referral centre in the country. The position there has reached crisis level because the hospital is short 44 of its complement of nursing staff. This issue needs to be addressed urgently. A finding of the report into the investigation of the unfortunate loss of life of a young child following her appendicectomy was that a children's nurse should be always on duty in all accident and emergency units to aid and facilitate the treatment and diagnosis of children attending that unit because such practice is specialised. That is why there are many different disciplines in nursing. It is an area of expertise, and research would prove that nurses involved in treatment and diagnosis on a full-time basis assist as much as a consultant in diagnosis.

The outsourcing to a private company of the writing of letters to those people affected by the situation in the north east has ethical implications. It also demonstrates that the job is best done by the professionals who deal with sensitive and confidential information every day.