David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)

I welcome the Minister of State to the House to respond to this important issue for people in Waterford and the south east, namely, the impact of health funding cuts on acute hospital services in Waterford and for patients throughout the south east.

As I understand it, there is to be a cut of approximately €6.5 million this year in the budget of Waterford Regional Hospital, which is to be recouped by way of cuts in services across all departments. The Minister has been very defensive about all this. However, there will be cuts to services across hospitals in particular acute services owing to health cutbacks.

Information given to me by people who work at Waterford Regional Hospital indicates that the cuts to be imposed this year will be severe and will impact on patient care. Some of the cuts under consideration are a 5% reduction in inpatient activity; a 10% reduction in the number of day cases; a 20% reduction in the number of new patients in the outpatient department; the closure of theatres and a surgical ward; the loss of paediatric inpatient beds, as well as beds in other units; and reduced expenditure on medication for the regional rheumatology day-service unit, for which a reduction of 50% will mean restricted access to treatment for patients with severe arthritic conditions. It is obvious that there will be dramatic cuts across all services at the hospital.

When I released the information to which I refer, one of the Minister of State's party colleagues accused me of misleading the public and acting reprehensibly. I must inform Fine Gael, the Minister of State and the Government that what is reprehensible is cutting funding to hospitals and allowing a situation to develop where front-line services will be either curtailed or lost. In opposition, the Minister of State's party made great play of the fact that, if elected to govern, it would deal with the real waste in the system, namely, bureaucracy and in the various management layers in the HSE, hospitals and the Department. What we have been presented with, however, is a one-size-fits-all approach to cuts in services, etc., in all hospitals. That is a far cry from the money following the patient approach - whatever that meant in the first instance - to which the Minister for Health, Deputy James Reilly, referred when in opposition. In many ways, that approach is penalising efficiency.

I was present at a meeting attended by members of the Minister of State's party and clinical directors and leading clinicians at Waterford Regional Hospital. Those who work in the hospital pleaded with us to appeal to the Minister for Health to have the cuts reversed. They also impressed upon us the need to ensure there would be proper acute services in the region. I accept that there is also a need for a reorientation of services across the region. Waterford Regional Hospital must function as the region's acute hospital. In addition, it must specialise in the provision of complex acute services in areas such as cancer care, neurology, cardiology, etc. As a result of cuts to its funding, however, it is not being given the opportunity to provide such services. There are real concerns about the retention of some of the services to which I refer.

I am seeking clarity. People have referred to the spreading of misinformation on this matter. The HSE should publish its plans for the hospital. Deputies in the Lower House should not act as public relations officers for the HSE. As public representatives, it is our responsibility to ensure we defend hospital services. All I am interested in is obtaining the facts from the HSE and discovering what the impact of the cuts in funding will be on patient care at the hospital in the area in which I live. There is a need for honesty in this matter and clarity with regard to the cuts to be implemented at the hospital.

Is the Minister of State in a position to confirm that there is going to be a cut of €6.5 million to the budget of Waterford Regional Hospital? Will he indicate whether there will be cuts across the various departments? People should be told the truth. In the context of the HSE's national service plan, the Minister for Health has acknowledged that there will be cuts to services. However, local politicians throughout the country are stating there will not be any cuts at the hospitals in their areas. There are going to be cuts to services as a result of the overall reduction in funding. People should be honest about that fact.