Maria Byrne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State. I thank her for being here for this all-important debate. I know of her passion for health. I thank her for her response to the Commencement matter I raised last week in respect of the shortage of neurology nurses, not only in University Hospital Limerick but also nationally.

The Sláintecare programme has delivered 6,000 new staff, be they nurses or doctors, and 800 additional beds. I will concentrate on University Hospital Limerick in which there were 98 extra beds and then 60 extra beds, as a number of them had to be closed during the pandemic. Some 91 people are on trolleys along the corridors of that hospital waiting to be treated today. It has the highest number waiting to be treated in the country. That trend has been consistent.There were 90 people on trolleys on Monday. Approximately 67 were on trolleys last Friday and the numbers have gradually increased. We have extra beds. I agree with Senator Seery Kearney that this is not about a lack of resources, given that so much money has been invested in the health service, but we are not solving the issues. There is an issue there about which we need to have a conversation. As Senator Burke said, perhaps we need a master plan to set down how a hospital should work in principle. There must be a reason the system is not working despite all the investment and extra beds. I know the population is growing. The HSE sanctioned the filling of positions for two diabetic nurses at the hospital last year. Those positions have still not been filled. It is not that there is a shortage of nurses. Why have those positions not been filled? I raised the matter of neurological nurses the other day. There is a shortage of eight because there are currently only three in place. The work the staff do is fantastic and I do not take from it. However, I believe there are many key areas in which we need to fill positions. The money has been appointed to fill these positions. If we could fill them, it would help to reduce waiting lists, which are enormous. Most of the clinics and outpatient services in University Hospital Limerick and St. John's Hospital were cancelled this week, and will only reopen tomorrow. That is serious. The cancellation of procedures, X-rays and tests leads to further backlog. It is not acceptable.

St. John's Hospital, which is part of the group, was mentioned in the capital plan. There was mention of 120 beds and increased procedures that could be carried out. There are currently only ten day beds in St. John's Hospital. Perhaps that is something that could be looked at in terms of solving the problem in the mid-west. Our population is growing and there are many more companies in the area. There have been many job announcements recently, which means people will be moving to the area. The hospital is now too small for the size of the population. That is an ongoing issue. I believe something has to happen. Perhaps someone should be assigned to see how areas of the system are failing and what the problems are. I compliment the staff and the investment that has been put into the hospital. For the sake of good morale for the staff, we need to look at where the problems are and solve them.