Phil Prendergast (Labour)

I wish to raise the ability of the State to cope with the swine flu epidemic. Recent hospital bed closures seriously compromise that ability. There are 119 confirmed cases, 45 in the North and 74 in the South, with a huge increase in people being cared for in accident and emergency departments. Swine flu is getting more difficult to diagnose because the bug is mutating and people are presenting with gastric upsets, perhaps lying in an accident and emergency department without being diagnosed and spreading the virus to many others.

The HSE has 373 beds closed due to budgetary constraints and cutbacks, and there are 79 seasonal bed closures. So far, 85 beds are to close in Merlin Park Hospital, Monaghan General Hospital and St. Vincent's Hospital, making a total of 537 beds that are not available for use by the HSE. In June last year there was a 19-day period when 1,992 patients were lying on trolleys in the eastern region alone and this year, in a comparable 19-day period, there were 2,700 people, an increase of 36%. The number of people receiving acute care in hospitals continues to spiral. These data come from Trolley Watch, with information from front-line providers. The HSE has confirmed that swine flu is being passed from person to person, which could turn the hospitals into swine flu incubators.

This is a serious situation that the HSE and the Minister will have to take into account when considering how to manage a pandemic that will have huge cost implications.