Michael Mullins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and congratulate him on both his appointment and the steady and businesslike start he has made. I also wish to congratulate him on his budget negotiation skills in achieving an increase in Exchequer funding of €300 million and a once-off saving of €460 million. This means the Minister will have an additional €760 million available to him this year.

Despite the extremely difficult budgetary position in which the Government has been obliged to operate in recent years, significant progress is being made. The fact that 6.8 million home-help hours were provided up to the end of August and that the number of home-care packages has risen by 20% is significant. It is simply incredible that 2.4 million people attended outpatient clinics in the first eight months of the year. Despite the improvements in ambulance response times to which the Minister referred, I am of the view that a number of issues remain to be addressed and that some significant black spots remain in existence throughout the country.

One of the greatest challenges facing the health service is that of staffing in acute hospitals. Our dependence on locums and expensive agency staff and the difficulties relating to the recruitment of consultants is placing services at serious risk. I will provide one example in this regard. The decision of a consultant geriatrician not to take up a post at Portiuncula Hospital is a matter of serious concern. Stroke services have not been available at the hospital since 2013, following the resignation of a consultant. Patients must now be taken by ambulance to University Hospital Galway in order that they might receive lifesaving treatment. Why is it taking so long to fill the position at Portiuncula Hospital to which I refer? The authorities at the hospital have been obliged to suspend their thrombolysis service as a result of the resignation of the consultant geriatrician who led the stroke service. A locum consultant undertook to re-establish the service and organised training sessions for medical registrars and senior house officers for this purpose. The training in question was provided but, as a result of issues relating to continuity and agency doctors, the service was never reinstated. I have been informed that if a telemedicine stroke machine were installed in Portiuncula Hospital, it would allow consultants at other hospitals to make diagnoses in respect of the patients there. As a result, those patients could be treated on a 24-7 basis. It has been noted - the Minister can check this out - that seven such machines are sitting in boxes in Cork having never been installed. These machines constitute a significant resource and it seems incredible that they have never been put into use. Will the Minister investigate this matter or comment on it when replying?

I would also welcome it if the Minister could put an end to damaging speculation about the possible downgrading of the accident and emergency at Portiuncula Hospital. The Department of Health recently confirmed that it will not be downgraded and I would like the Minister to underline that confirmation. A great deal of damage is being done to the reputation of the hospital as a result of inaccurate speculation. The fact that it is handling much higher volumes of accident and emergency admissions in the aftermath of the closure of the accident and emergency department at Roscommon hospital highlights the need for the its own department to remain fully operational. I would welcome clarity in respect of this matter.