Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting this matter for discussion. Conscious of time, I will be brief. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Jim Daly, to the House although I had requested that the Minister, Deputy Harris, come to the House to make a statement on the closure of the paediatric inpatient service at the National Rehabilitation Hospital, NRH, in Dún Laoghaire. I have rehearsed this saga and related issues since January 2017. Today, I call on the Minister for Health, whom I am somewhat surprised is not here, although I acknowledge and accept he is a busy man, to explain why the NRH has not been provided with the necessary staffing, resources and specialist supports that are required to enable it to provide a safe and appropriate level of rehabilitative care to patients up to its full bed capacity and to commit to an immediate reopening of the 12 bed closures at this hospital.

Today, there are 12 beds closed in this hospital. The NRH provides a comprehensive range of specialist rehabilitation services to patients from throughout the island of Ireland, who as a result of accident, illness or injury have acquired a physical or cognitive disability and require specialist rehabilitation. The NRH in Dún Laoghaire has advised me that it has a multitude of programmes, including the brain injury programme, including strokes; the spinal cord system and care programme; the prosthetic, orthotic and limb absence rehabilitation programme - better known as the POLAR programme; paediatric and family-centre rehabilitation. It is on paediatric beds and consultants that I would like to dwell in the time available to me.

The Minister of State, Deputy Jim Daly, is aware of the situation, which I know because during my engagement today with the hospital I was advised that his Department had sought clarification on the matter yesterday. On 30 August 2018, a statement was issued relating to the closure of the paediatric inpatient service at the National Rehabilitation Hospital.On top of all of the other problems we have had in this hospital with closures, lack of resources for staff, patients, patients' families, the people queuing up and all the patients waiting in acute hospital beds, no Minister can stand over what is happening there. I really do not want any more lame excuses from anyone in the Department of Health. I have contacted the Minister's office throughout the summer offering to take up his initial invitation to me to meet him to discuss the NRH. He has not yet responded with a firm date to meet. That is disappointing to me and is perhaps a measure of the lack of commitment to and focus on the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Dún Laoghaire. It disappoints me to have to say that. In summary, the hospital says in this statement that it wishes to restore the much-needed paediatric cover for this hospital to allow it to get on with providing inpatient services and to resume as early as possible. In January 2017 the hospital had 12 beds closed. Despite promises to open them we confirmed in July that six had been opened. In August, another six beds to do with the inpatient paediatric services closed. It is unacceptable. The patients are unhappy. I have indicated to politicians in the constituency of Dún Laoghaire, members of all parties and none, that there will be a series of public rallies and meetings which I will lead to get a focus on this. I have been very patient - and I think every Member of this House will vouch for that - in consistently raising this issue but I am getting a closed door. Patients are disappointed but more importantly, so are the families. The final issue is that we have patients waiting in acute hospital beds to avail of the excellent services in the National Rehabilitation Hospital.