Keith Swanick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for coming into the House. I express my sincere thanks to him for making the long trek from west Cork to Belmullet in north Mayo last Monday to engage with staff and patients in Belmullet District Hospital. They found it a fruitful experience. I genuinely thank the Minister of State for making the effort and recommending the preservation of the 20 acute beds in the hospital. It was an excellent decision, for which I express my thanks.

I was contacted by Councillor Michael Sheehan from Wexford about the reduction in services at New Houghton Hospital in New Ross and other community hospitals. What are the Government's plans for the future of the district hospital network in the light of unprecedented overcrowding in the acute hospital sector? We spoke about this issue the other day and Councillor Sheehan contacted me about New Houghton Hospital, formerly a fever hospital that has been lauded for its quality staff and delivery of care in the community. In the past few years, like many other district hospitals, it has become a care centre for patients with dementia and Alzheimer's disease and those suffering from chronic illnesses. At its peak, it accommodated approximately 80 patients, but with new HSE regulations and guidelines, it has been downsized to 50. However, in the past few months, I understand the HSE has not permitted the admission of any new patient. There are around 30 in the hospital. My understanding is a significant number of beds are available in the hospital that could be used to alleviate pressure in Wexford and Waterford, including in other acute HSE hospitals. The staff have been recognised as doing an excellent job, but, of course, I would expect them to be worried about the future of the facility, given the inability to admit new patients.

HIQA has noted the poor quality of the approach road and the green areas immediately around the hospital as limiting capacity for the residents, but it has also stated the care provided in the hospital is excellent. Given the cuts made by the HSE to local facilities, I am concerned that the hospital will be downgraded. The public in the locality is concerned about an even worse outcome, that it might eventually be closed. That would be a devastating blow to many families in the locality, employees and patients, particularly after the local community raised much-needed funds through Friends of the New Houghton Hospital to provide extra services, equipment and amenities such as a sensory garden.

The HSE claims that there is no demand for the 20 unoccupied beds and that any demand for services has been met by private organisations locally. The question is, as the Minister of State is aware, as we have spoken about the issue, why pay private facilities when HSE beds in the locality are available? It sounds suspiciously like the possibility that elderly healthcare services in the area will be privatised.

I have spoken about the district hospital network since I was elected to the Seanad. The Minister of State knows how passionate I am about it. The hospitals play a vital role in the delivery of a modern healthcare service. Any reduction in the services provided at New Houghton Hospital would be counter-intuitive and counter-productive and fly in the face of Government policy. As the Minister of State is aware, the district hospital network prevents admissions to the acute sector and facilitate discharges. Without a lot of investment but with appropriate investment, the district hospital network could provide extra services and prevent people, particularly the elderly, from having to travel long distances to avail of services. In doing so they often have to depend on a public transport system that is inadequate in certain parts of the country or the road network. Lateral thinking is needed. As I said to the Minister of State on Monday, outreach clinics to provide, for example, cardiac or respiratory rehabilitation services, could be held in these facilities.

I seek an update on the posittion at New Houghton Hospital. How does the Minister of State feel about the expansion of the district hospital network nationally?