John Whelan (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister for Health, Deputy Leo Varadkar. I am pleased and relieved to see him here in person.

The midlands, including all of County Laois, are in turmoil owing to the speculation, scaremongering, doubt and confusion surrounding the future status of the Midland Regional Hospital in Portlaoise and, in particular, its accident and emergency department.I do not have to spell out the context of this issue to the Minister as it has been ongoing for 30 years. I have hardly got up at any stage during those years without there being some doubt, confusion and speculation about the status and future of the hospital which for years has been the poor relation and playing second fiddle for all sorts of reason and sometimes not least because of political bias and interference. Be that as it may be, the hospital has been underfunded, understaffed and under-resourced and, therefore, undermined. I thought, however, that we were coming out the other end and that we were seeing light at the end of the tunnel, thanks in no small part to the Minister's personal and direct intervention. It is, unfortunately, groundhog day for the hospital and we are back in the throes of not knowing where we stand or what the future holds. This is not fair to the staff, community and those who desperately require and need the services of the hospital daily. While it was not a problem caused by the Minister, it falls to him and the Government to address and solve it and not let it linger on.

In January the new CEO of the hospital group confirmed categorically that Portlaoise hospital was secure, that it would be retained as a model 3 hospital and that its 24/7 accident and emergency department would continue and was safe and secure. Last week, however, out of the blue, with no warning, like a bombshell, it was announced in the media that there was some doubt about the immediate term prospects of the 24/7 accident and emergency department. I cannot tell the Minister about the shock, distress, disbelief and anxiety this has caused throughout the community. The hospital has a population catchment of approximately 200,000. It is not, therefore, a local issue or a local hospital. It serves Athy, Monasterevin and Rathangan, as well as counties Carlow and Offaly.

It is a resourcing issue. If it is a question of staff, emergency consultants and nurses, let us address it in that way and once and for all stop running away from it and saying it is not a resourcing issue. No hospital in the country could bear the forensic scrutiny and microscopic investigations that have been conducted at Portlaoise hospital as a result of the tragic and unfortunate deaths in the maternity unit. I am glad to say, however, that most people now believe the Minister has vigorously and comprehensively addressed that issue.

I am not here to make an emotional appeal to save the hospital. We have a credible, coherent and constructive case to make for the Midland Regional Hospital, Portlaoise which is based on merit, medical grounds, clinical need and community requirements. It has the only accident and emergency department between Naas and Limerick. The ambulance network is not in place to start transferring patients, as suggested, to other accident and emergency departments. The Minister has seen such cases this week at St. James's Hospital, in Tallaght, Limerick and elsewhere. Is it proposed that we compound these problems by diverting between 30,000 and 40,000 cases from Portlaoise because that is the number of cases at the accident and emergency department there? It is one of the busiest accident and emergency departments in the country outside the capital and other cities. It is located near the intersection of the M7 and M8 motorways. Some 21,500 vehicles pass through Portlaoise on a daily basis and it is twice that figure at weekends. There are some 2,000 births in the maternity unit annually, which means that between five and ten babies are born there every day. As the Minister knows, babies do not always choose to come between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. They are born at all hours of the night and at weekends.

The hospital is located across the road from two high security prisons, with 1,200 prison staff. The Prison Officers Association is incensed and cannot believe the proposition that the 24/7 accident and emergency department in Portlaoise hospital be closed, given the security, health and safety and cost implications in having to transfer staff who have been attacked or stabbed by prisoners or prisoners to other hospitals.

I want the Minister to bring some clarity to the issue. I am not saying he has to have an absolute solution today, but we need a clear plan and commitment to the future of the Midland Regional Hospital, Portlaoise. The starting point for service provision and patient safety has to be an absolute commitment to the bedrock that is the 24/7 accident and emergency department. Not everyone-----