Paudie Coffey (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister for State with responsibility for health promotion to the House, where I again raise important issues during a Commencement debate concerning the health service, not just in my county and city but nationally. In 2013, the previous Government, in an attempt to create efficiencies within acute hospital services, decided to reform the acute hospital network and reconfigure it into hospital groups. The South-South West hospital group in my area consists of University Hospital Waterford, which is my local hospital, as well as hospitals in Cork and Kerry. At that time, there was grave public concern that this reform would lead to the downgrading of the model 4 hospital at University Hospital Waterford, which has provided specialist services across a range of acute services for the region.

Certain assurances were given in writing by the former Minister for Health, the Secretary General of the Department of Health and senior management in the HSE that this would not lead to downgrading. However, I have concerns I wish to raise today. When these hospital groups were formed, hospital boards were to be appointed in tandem. Four years later, we still do not have sight of a hospital board being appointed for the South-South West hospital group. This is a cause of great concern to me because the hospital boards were meant to be appointed to bring oversight and accountability in terms of governance and efficiency of expenditure in respect of the HSE and various services.

This leads to my next point regarding the capital plan the HSE plans and adopts for health services around the country. Again, University Hospital Waterford is the example about which I can speak the most. I acknowledge the investment by the State in the new accident and emergency department, which was a major capital investment. I also acknowledge the news that the new palliative centre for the hospital will go out to tender and possibly building very shortly but I have to add that this is not before time. For many years, the south east has been the only region without that type of palliative care support. It would not have happened without fund raising by the hospice movement in Waterford and surrounding counties. The news that the five-storey block will be built is welcome.

Recent controversies around cardiac care continue. There are promises of a mobile catheterisation laboratory. However, I was horrified to read a plan that was recently disclosed to me. The plan was a report by a review team into University Hospital Waterford in December 2014. This report was carried out by the HSE to review the acute services as part of the reconfiguration plans. In this report, I was horrified to discover that the HSE has approved more than €5.4 million for a new mortuary for University Hospital Waterford at a time when all public representatives, all parties, consultants, the public and everybody in the region are crying out for an investment of €2.4 million for a second catheterisation laboratory for cardiac services in the region. I am dismayed and cannot believe that the HSE can invest €5.4 million into looking after the dead when it cannot invest €2.4 million to look after the living. I am horrified and wanted to bring it to the Minister of State's attention. I believe this is happening because we do not have the oversight, governance and accountability that was foreseen when these hospital groups were first established.Somebody needs to call the HSE to task. I have tried to do it but, unfortunately, to date I have failed. We need the political system to work and these bureaucrats need to be asked to explain why this investment is being put in the wrong place.