Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)

The health service in this country has faced very serious challenges over a long period that have involved other administrations as well as those of Fianna Fáil and to suggest we are entering some sort of Nirvana as a result of this Government is fantasy world.

I found the following going through some basic research to try to find out what was going on in other countries. If I were to state many of the familiar issues - crowded emergency rooms, lack of hospital beds, not enough doctors and nurses and patients suffering as a result - one's immediate reaction would be this refers to Ireland. In fact, this refers to Ottawa and British Columbia in Canada quoted by Dr. Raj Sherman, a New York physician turned Edmonton MLA. I was taken somewhat by the suggestions he made in the context of trying to fix the Canadian health care system, particularly as it relates to the ER or accident and emergency. He stated that home care, home care and home care are the top three ways to fix acute care, and that people need to be helped to remain in their homes far longer than is currently the case. He also makes the point that the health care system should stop stressing the acute care system by forcing it to do the job of other parts of health care, and that better primary care, including ensuring that every citizen has a GP and long-term care for seniors, will free up beds and resources for the critically ill. That comes from a Canadian. I just picked that out. It could have been any country.