Dominic Hannigan (Labour)

I will follow up a point raised by Senator McFadden earlier that is causing great concern to the people in the north east, namely, the outbreak of the C. diff bacteria in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda. It has already claimed ten victims. Ireland is one of the first countries in the world to put in a notifiable diseases alert for C. diff and it appears that the staff in the hospital are implementing best procedures in the management of the outbreak. They are referring ambulances and GP referrals to other hospitals in Dundalk, Navan and Dublin. They are also asking that people who suffer accidents turn to other hospitals or use their GP services as opposed to going to the hospital in Drogheda.

It is very important to keep this under control and I would like the Leader to raise it with the Minister. If the staff and management of Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital feel they need additional resources to monitor the position and ensure it does not get worse, we should ensure that the Minister will make those resources available.