Marie Moloney (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House and it is great that we are having such a debate on problems in the health service straight after Christmas. I acknowledge the good points in the service plan and welcome many of the proposals but we all have issues that we would like to be addressed as well. I welcome the proposal to implement free GP care for those under six years old. How are the discussions progressing with the Irish Medical Organisation on the fee-setting process? Are we nearing its conclusion as we cannot implement the scheme until the agreement is reached? I am sure the Minister will provide an update. It must be going well if we are hopeful that it will be introduced shortly. I also welcome the proposal for free GP care for those over 70.

The Minister may remember the next issue as something for which I campaigned long and hard, including partaking in Adjournment debates here. This is the extension of the BreastCheck programme to women aged between 65 and 69. I would welcome that, as why should women of that age be any less important than younger women?

Cancer must be detected as early as possible in order to have a positive outcome. BreastCheck has been very successful in the early detection of breast cancer. A number of my friends and relations have been diagnosed and successfully treated for breast cancer due to early detection.

I welcome the expansion of the scheme for mental health teams. My colleague here has gone into the matter in great detail so I will not do so. Under A Vision for Change we constantly want to get people back into the community and living there but first we must have multidisciplinary teams in place to provide a backup service. It is vital that funding for the mental health service is put to the right use thus ensuring teams are in place to provide backup.

I also welcome funding to improve maternity services. Having said that, over the Christmas period a member of my family gave birth to twins at Kerry General Hospital who were born five or six weeks premature. We could not fault the service as the care they received was second to none and the staff were marvellous. I am glad to say that all three - the mother and two children - are now home. The twins were allowed home because they reached the required weight that would allow them to be discharged. The care they received was brilliant. A lot of the times we knock the care provided in hospitals. Good care should also be acknowledged, and I say that on behalf of my sister who had the twins.

I also welcome the opening of a diabetes monitoring unit at Cork University Hospital last week. Obviously we are not just here to clap ourselves on the back and congratulate ourselves on having a wonderful health service. We all know there are deficiencies in the health service and it is our job, as public representatives, to point out deficiencies and bring them to the attention of the Minister in order to ensure they are addressed. We must do whatever we can to help the situation and it is on that note that I say the following. A friend of mine was told that she, more than likely, had cancer of the pancreas. She had a lot of tests but needed to have a scope of the pancreas in order to secure a full diagnosis. There are only two machines in the country - one in the Mercy Hospital in Cork and one in the St. James's in Dublin. Unfortunately, the machine in the Mercy Hospital in Cork has been out of order for the past five or six weeks and will remain out of order for another two weeks. My friend was out of her mind with worry and anxiety for the Christmas period because she could not be diagnosed due to the machine being out of order. Eventually she was taken to St. James's last week and had the test. That just shows we need to have a plan B in order to provide backup when a machine stops working. The situation I outlined is not good enough. Treatment is being delayed and I would like the Minister to address the matter.

I am sorry for going over time but I must mention another lady who was in Cork University Hospital. She had to wait two years for a cataract treatment or surgery. After she had her pre-meds done she was told she would be transferred to the South Infirmary Victoria Hospital. Then last November she had her pre-meds done again but was told she would have to wait a year and a half for surgery. That means she must wait a further year and a half. What is going on?