Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Offaly, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Gallagher for raising this important matter and I thank Senator Swanick for his contribution. The overarching policy of the Government is to support older people to live in dignity and independence in their homes and communities for as long as possible. This is clearly what older people want but we also have patients who are in genuine need of residential care either on a long-stay or short-stay basis.

The Health Service Executive is responsible for the delivery of health and personal social services, including those at facilities such as Dungarvan Community Hospital. The hospital provides long-stay residential, respite, palliative care and rehabilitation services for older people.

As with the health service in general, Dungarvan Community Hospital is experiencing significant challenges with recruiting and retaining nursing staff, which the Senator acknowledged. Dungarvan has 16 whole-time equivalent vacancies, eight of which are required for the Sacred Heart ward.While there have been several national recruitment campaigns for nurses, unfortunately, a serious challenge has arisen in recruiting nurses to fill vacancies in Dungarvan. As a result, to maintain the delivery of safe and high-quality services, the Health Service Executive, HSE, has decided to move residents internally from the Sacred Heart ward to alternative accommodation in the hospital. This is a temporary measure and staff will be re-organised to optimise patient safety. Long-stay and short-stay care, including palliative and dementia care, all continue to be provided.

I understand, as does the HSE, this decision has caused a great deal of upset for residents, families and the local community. I hope further clarity has been and will continue to be brought to the situation by the HSE. The HSE has assured me patient welfare is a priority for staff and management and expressed its deep appreciation of the support the hospital receives from families, as well as the wider community.

The HSE acknowledges the concerns expressed on this subject in recent days and apologises to residents and their families for any inconvenience. It will work to ensure minimum disruption to normal services during this interim arrangement. It is important to note there is no negative impact on existing staffing numbers while this interim safety arrangement is in place.

The HSE has ongoing opportunities for nurses. Advertisements remain live on the HSE website. In recent days, the HSE issued an appeal for any registered nurses available for work, whether on a full or part-time basis, to contact it. Specifically for Dungarvan, all inquiries, including from nurses who are retired or not currently serving, may be directed to the HSE’s manager for older person services for Waterford. The HSE has given an assurance all applications will be processed without delay.

Representatives of hospital management continue to be available at all times to residents and their families to discuss any matter of concern to them. They will work closely with staff representatives to bring the hospital back to full operating capacity. The HSE met families on 3 May and a further meeting is scheduled for June. The Department will monitor this situation carefully. I have asked the HSE to keep me updated on progress. I will bring the specific points made about recruitment to the attention of the relevant people.