Gabrielle McFadden (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I ask the Leader to invite the Minister for Health to the House for a debate on the accident and emergency services. I say debate but I would prefer a discussion. We need a constructive discussion on such services and people being left on trolleys.

The Opposition parties and, indeed, Mr. Liam Doran, constantly highlight the problems in the HSE but never offer a solution, a bit like the housing crisis. I would like a discussion here with the Minister. I was encouraged to call for a discussion today because a person came to me yesterday who had attended MIDOC, which is an out-of-hours medical service in the midlands. Last Friday night she went to MIDOC with a pain in her leg and paid €50. She was told that her ailment was probably more serious than what MIDOC should deal with and was advised to attend the accidence and emergency unit in a local hospital, which she duly did. She arrived at the unit at 11 p.m. and was seen by a triage nurse. She was told to sit on the chairs in the waiting room at 11 p.m. and that is where she sat until 6 a.m. the following morning when she was moved on to a trolley. She waited on the trolley for two hours and a doctor tended to her at 8.10 a.m. She did not see a doctor in the unit all through the night. Five other people were also in the waiting room and none of them saw a doctor either.

The following questions must be answered. Was there a doctor in attendance? Was there no doctor until 8 o'clock in the morning? If so, why was the lady not sent home and told to return at 8 o'clock? If there is no doctor on duty then why does MIDOC refer people to accident and emergency units? Statistics on the number of people on trolleys are continually collected. Is this lady simply a statistic? We need a constructive discussion on this matter but we should not simply list our issues with the system. Instead we should encourage the Minister to listen to our suggestions in terms of ways to solve the problem. I call on the Leader to please arrange a discussion.