Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for dealing with this matter. The matter I wish to raise relates to work being referred to Cork University Hospital. I will read from something that was sent to me:

Two of the large Dublin hospitals, namely St James's & St Vincent's hospitals, are unilaterally imposing very narrow catchment areas and returning letters to GPs with 'Out of Catchment' or 'Deflect' stamped on them. This means that the GP is then forced to re-refer the patient to a hospital that does not operate catchment areas although that hospital may be much further from the patient's home. A recent example of this is a patient from Enniscorthy, Co Wexford referred to St Vincent's, the letter is rejected and returned to the GP who then has no choice but to refer to Cork University Hospital where there are much longer waiting lists and is without a public transport link to Wexford.

It is in that context that I have tabled this motion on the Adjournment about the imposition of catchment areas. People from the Wexford, Kilkenny and Waterford areas are all coming into Cork in some categories. Who has given the authority for the two big hospitals in Dublin to impose narrow catchment areas from which they will accept patients? That issue must be clarified. In particular, some services have been withdrawn from Waterford and that is now putting huge pressure on the system in Cork.