David Cullinane (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House, as he is a frequent visitor when taking Adjournment motions relating to Waterford Regional Hospital. I have tabled this matter on the back of a parliamentary question asked by my colleague, Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin, a couple of weeks ago regarding staffing levels at Waterford Regional Hospital from 2007 to 2014. The HSE provided those figures in tabular form, and over the seven years, only in 2008 was there an increase in overall staff levels.

There were 1,903 people working at Waterford Regional Hospital in 2007 and there are now 1,597 people working there, which is a drop of 306 people. The Minister is aware that Waterford city, in particular, has been very badly hit by high levels of unemployment, and even this week there was the announcement of another company closing, with 27 jobs gone. The city is really in trouble because of dangerously high levels of unemployment. The State is adding to that problem, and with 300 fewer people working at the hospital, it is like losing a small or even a big factory. There is a concern about the jobs lost, although I accept that the Minister will argue that we had to make savings and cut our cloth to measure because of the economic crisis.

We can look at the overall figures, although the headings were far too vague in general for us to draw conclusions. The nursing figures jump out, as the hospital had 753 whole-time equivalent nurses in 2007 but that figure has reduced to 623, equating to a loss of 130 nurses working at Waterford Regional Hospital. From speaking with people working in the hospital, I know two surgical theatres have been closed, along with a ward and a number of beds have been lost. One of the main reasons for the closures or decreased capacity is a lack of staff and particularly nurses to take that capacity. Overcrowding in the accident and emergency ward has a knock-on effect on the ability of the hospital to carry out elective surgeries, and we have seen them cancelled far too often. I have also asked my colleague, Deputy Ó Caoláin, to table parliamentary questions with regard to waiting times for treatment. Some pressure points in the hospital still have not been resolved in departments like ophthalmology, orthopaedics and the ear, nose and throat specialty. I am very concerned about the overall reduction in numbers in the hospital and specifically the nursing staff.

We have to protect and defend services in our local area. I am sure when the Minister was in opposition, he did the same thing. Our instincts are to protect services as best we can in our localities for the people we represent. Figures like this are alarming and cause concern, and so is the closure of surgical theatres and wards. If we speak to people working in the hospital who tell us it is very difficult to continue providing the level of service required because of repeated cutbacks, we are also concerned about that. The hospital budget allocation for the hospital was cut again this year, as it was for all hospitals. We are eating into the bone and although we simply cannot cut any more, there will be other cuts this year because of the HSE service plan.

I will briefly move away from the numbers of people working in the Waterford hospital. A couple of weeks ago we discussed the implementation of the Higgins report, and we were promised five academic posts. We were promised that Waterford Regional Hospital would become a university hospital but when will that happen? Will there be a name change? How will that process be realised and when will the five academic consultant posts become a reality? When will a 24/7 cardiology service be delivered for the people of Waterford? I have raised this issue and will continue to do so until I get satisfactory answers. When I see cuts to services in the hospital in my locality, I will continue to raise Adjournment matters like this. It is wrong to cut hospital provisions and front-line care when there is so much waste of public money in this State in a variety of areas.