Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for making time today to deal with this issue. The television programme aired last night was frightening. People are shocked that in this day and age this way of managing patients was allowed to continue. It is interesting that HIQA carried out an inspection of the facility on 25 and 26 February and again on 26 and 27 May this year. Several issues were identified by HIQA and the indications were that not everything was running as it should be. This shows clearly that where concerns are raised, making sure that the checks and balances are operating properly is essential. It is clear that the management and care of the patients was not being carried out in proper manner. It is also very clear that there were no checks and balances to ensure that proper procedures were being followed. That is a significant issue. Surely the medical staff working at this facility must have been aware of concerns. When patients attend GPs in the context of family difficulties, doctors can often identify issues of concern, particularly with children. What was the position at the facility with regard to medical care? Was the medical well-being of patients being reviewed on a regular basis? If not, why not?

This raises another issue which I have been highlighting repeatedly over the past six months and which came to the fore again last week at the meeting of the Committee on Health and Children which addressed the ambulance service. At that meeting, senior management confirmed that they did not have the skills to carry out the work they were employed to do. They spoke about inadequate job descriptions. About six months ago I raised my concerns about the fact that more than 1,100 staff in the HSE have been appointed to more senior roles without being interviewed. The HIQA report on the ambulance service also raised the issue of staff not having the requisite skills to do their jobs. Given that 1,100 people were appointed without interview, is there now a question mark over whether they have the competence to carry out their roles? Does this also apply to this area? It is fine to put people into jobs but it is important to ensure that they have all of the necessary skills to carry out the job they are employed to do. Certainly in this case, the staff obviously did not have the skills to manage these patients, which resulted in major failings in their care. If they were trained, was that training adequate? If they were not trained, how were they appointed to their jobs? These questions must be answered.