Keith Swanick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will be very brief. I thank my colleague, Senator Gallagher, for allowing me to share his time on this very important issue. The closure of the Sacred Heart unit in Dungarvan is absolutely devastating to the community and will send shivers down the spines of other community hospitals which are experiencing the same issues with recruitment. Most hospitals are only a couple of staff away from ward closures. As a director of Belmullet hospital, I am too aware of it. I also concur with my colleague's sentiments that the closure was underhanded in the manner in which it was executed over a bank holiday weekend in an attempt to bury the story. At the very end of last year, the Minister for Health said he had no magic wand to recruit more nurses into the health service. He also said he was satisfied with the package on offer to graduate nurses and that many nurses are returning here to be closer to family and friends. This is in direct contrast to what the INMO reported only a few weeks ago. The organisation undertook surveys of all nursing and midwifery students on the final leg of their degree to examine whether they would seek employment upon qualification in September 2017. It found that 78% of respondents are considering emigrating and 70% have already been approached by overseas recruitment agencies. That is compared to 29% who had been offered permanent positions in the Irish public health service at that time. Surely all of the students who are in their final 36-week placement should be offered competitive, permanent contracts to be entered into following successful graduation of their course. The people of Dungarvan are now without 16 vital beds, which provided much needed rehabilitation, respite and step-down care and undoubtedly alleviated some of the pressure on the struggling University Hospital Waterford.

Community hospitals facilitate discharges from university hospitals and prevent admissions to university hospitals. Another important aspect of the community hospital is that it acts as an interface between the fair deal system and the university hospital. If a loved one is waiting for the fair deal scheme in a university hospital, he or she can be transferred to a community hospital for the intervening period before being transferred to a nursing home. This is another vital element. I ask the Minister of State to review these closures as a matter of priority.