Nicky McFadden (Fine Gael)

I propose an amendment to the Order of Business that the Minister for Health and Children come into the House today in order that we can discuss the serious issue of ambulances being turned away from the Midland Regional Hospital, Mullingar. The hospital was taken off call yesterday owing to serious overcrowding in the accident and emergency department. At the time there were 23 people on trolleys awaiting treatment. I have held discussions with people working in the hospital, including senior consultants and clinicians, about the seriousness of the problem. Forty one acute beds have been taken out of the system and 35 nurses have not been replaced as a result of the recruitment embargo. I spoke to two consultants in the hospital this morning who have called for an emergency meeting with the HSE today to discuss the crisis. A representative of the INO spoke on radio about the potential risks to patients because of the serious overcrowding in the Midland Regional Hospital, Tullamore, to where ambulances were being referred. It is also experiencing its own difficulties with the staff embargo. We are putting patients at risk. If the Government presses ahead with the misguided proposal to cut public sector pay costs through the 12 days unpaid leave, it will further put patients at risk. The INO was this morning very vocal about how worried it is with regard to how its staff will cope and care for patients under such trying conditions.

The Leader, like other Members, will have received a press release from the HSE yesterday. It was quite misleading that the HSE would claim the hospital consultants endorsed the recent addition of day beds and the reduction of acute beds, given that 13 new day beds are no substitute for acute hospital beds in Mullingar General Hospital. Some 61 operations were cancelled in the first half of this year, there is serious overcrowding due to people trying to get into accident and emergency departments and there is gridlock in the system because hundreds of patients are unable to access step-down beds.

I know the Leader shares my concern, and he and Senator Glynn recently put down a very supportive Adjournment matter concerning the serious crisis in Mullingar. The Leader should be honest and join me in offering collective political support for the people of Longford-Westmeath, so the Minister would really hear what we are saying, namely, that we cannot lose any more services in the hospital. It is the slippery slope towards the diminution of services in Mullingar.