Katherine Zappone (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am asking the Minister to outline the response of his Department to the report on the unannounced inspection of Tallaght hospital, which was published by the Health Information and Quality Authority, HIQA, last Thursday. The report summarised the results of two unannounced inspections of Tallaght hospital in July and August of this year. The findings were disturbing and raised serious concerns relating to infection control, patient safety, basic hygiene and hospital maintenance. What is the Department of Health doing to ensure these matters are addressed efficiently, effectively and quickly? This is not the first HIQA report to flag health and safety concerns at Tallaght hospital. In 2012 an investigation highlighted issues relating to quality, safety, governance and care and, consequently, Tallaght hospital implemented many significant changes but I wonder whether the concerns have been addressed fully. The new report suggests more effort is required.
The July 2014 inspection found that Tallaght hospital had "insufficient clinical microbiology resources in place to routinely enable a timely response in the treatment of patients with serious inspections". That HIQA report also stated that frequently used patient equipment was found to be unclean, thereby posing a potential risk of inter-patient transmission of infective material. Hand hygiene has proven essential to patient safety and the prevention of hospital-acquired infections, as the Minister knows, but Tallaght hospital has failed to meet the national targets for hand hygiene set by the HSE for 2012, 2013 and those of the most recent audit of May 2014. According to the HIQA report, records provided to the authority after the July inspection show only 26% of all staff had attended hand hygiene training.
How will the Department ensure patients do not leave hospital sicker then when they arrived? Many people living in Tallaght and surrounding communities cannot afford to opt out of the public system and pay for private health care. How will the Department ensure such people do not hesitate to seek necessary medical care and guarantee a basic standard of patient safety for all those treated in public hospitals? We must address these problems before it is too late - patients and medical professionals are facing high risks and high costs. There is global anxiety relating to Ebola. Does the Department believe we can afford to wait to fix these issues that plague Tallaght hospital and the local community? Can we expect hospitals to cope with outbreaks if basic, routine standards of hygiene are not met?
I have discussed this matter with HIQA and the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, INMO, and I feel the situation at Tallaght hospital is urgent. Basic hygiene issues can be efficiently solved with increased training, higher educational standards and routine environmental audits. Has the Department done anything to help Tallaght hospital meet hygiene standards? We must re-invest in Tallaght hospital after a long period of Government austerity as there are chronic staff shortages among medical professionals and in administration. These shortages must be addressed and I commend the hospital on its recent efforts to recruit staff following the report. The current demand in the local community for health services far exceeds the hospital's capacity to deliver - some wards are operating at 105% capacity when that figure should fall between 80% and 85%. Is the Department supporting the hospital to alleviate the burden of under-staffing and over-capacity?