Seán Kyne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy Leader is welcome. I call for a debate in the coming weeks on the winter plan that was agreed by the Cabinet and published in recent weeks. Thanks to you, a Chathaoirligh, I raised it in a Commencement debate and at the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health. I refer to the situation in the Saolta University Health Care Group and the fact that no acute beds are being provided this winter under the winter plan, despite 205 beds being provided nationally and the fact that one in eight patients on trolleys in the eight-week period leading up to the publication of the plan were in Galway. Despite that, no acute beds were provided.

A related issue is the lack of carers. We are not talking about hours or funding, we are talking about a physical lack of carers to do this very important work in the home care sector. I received a response from community healthcare west stating that due to a shortage of healthcare support assistants, HCSAs, the HSE is currently challenged to cover the extra allocation of hours. I had raised the case on behalf of the mother of a very worthy individual. We often debate issues where the concern is a lack of funding but this is due to a lack of availability of staff. The reply in this case is that the home support manager is making every effort to source HCSAs so that the full allocation can be delivered. The HSE national office has approved an additional 54 whole-time equivalents for healthcare support assistants for community healthcare west. As part of the winter plan, we need a debate on what the Government is doing to source carers to provide the very important work that they carry out in communities. All families at some stage will need the additional supports provided by carers in the healthcare system.

On another matter, I attended the health committee this morning, which addressed the issue of drugs. We were told by the CityWide Drugs Crisis Campaign in Dublin that the mid-term review of the national drugs strategy is writing the community sector role out of the strategy. At a meeting this Friday, the Department of Health intends to remove community and voluntary networks from their representative roles in the strategy and we were told that it will happen without review, rationale or discussion. It is calling on the Government not to allow this to happen. This is a matter of urgency. At the committee I requested a meeting with the Minister for Health and his officials to explain why this is happening. There must be a rationale for any major change in policy like this. I ask that the Deputy Leader would write to the Minister of State with responsibility for the drugs strategy as a matter of urgency in advance of Friday's meeting.