Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

This issue relates to St. Joseph's Community Hospital in County Donegal, which provides respite and long-term patient care for elderly people in the greater Finn Valley area. Currently, following a number of Health Information and Quality Authority, HIQA, reports, it is under increasing pressure to maintain the complement of respite care within the hospital together with catering for the long-term patient care.

HIQA has identified a number of issues which the hospital must deal with, but these issues primarily pertain to the high level of admissions into the hospital last year, at over 700. Approximately 80% of those admissions were for respite care and HIQA is of the view that, given the high level of admissions and discharges, the hospital needs additional staffing to meet the demands of the long-term stay patients in the hospital. To cut a long story short, additional staff are required at the hospital. However, the moratorium on recruitment in the public sector is causing difficulties in this regard. Unless that is dealt with in the community nursing homes throughout the country, these difficulties will continue indefinitely. Obviously there are issues regarding the structure of the building and the need to develop it, but that can be done at a later stage. The most urgent matter at present is the need to lift the moratorium on recruitment for the nursing units in community hospitals throughout the country, including St. Joseph's, as well as those in Carndonagh and Dungloe in Donegal which were discussed in this Chamber last night.

I hope the Minister will give an indication of whether he is willing to consider lifting the moratorium on recruitment or providing some level of flexibility in the moratorium for the community hospital sector. According to the Health Service Executive, HSE, approximately 2.4% of the population aged more than 65 years is currently in nursing units. That will increase to almost 4% in ten years. If that is the case, what plan does the Department have in place to meet the increasing demand? There will be a requirement for additional staff if that demand is to be met. In addition, there will be a need for additional capacity in terms of new beds and facilities. However, the issue tonight is the need to lift the moratorium on recruitment. I thank the Minister for attending to reply on this Adjournment matter.