Emer Currie (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There seems to be a difference this week. We have had 1 February and St. Brigid's Day and now we have the Ulysses centenary. I am glad the winter is behind us. We all seem to be feeling a bit more upbeat. Today I want to focus on neurological services and the shortage of neurological nurses nationally. It is a worry. The Neurological Alliance of Ireland has said we need an extra 100 neurological nurses. In Beaumont Hospital there should be 15 but there are ten. In St. James's Hospital there should be 14 but there are only four. They cover epilepsy, migraine, brain and spinal cord injury, long-term neurological conditions such as stroke and Parkinson's disease, and life-limiting neurological conditions such as motor neurone disease. There is not a family in Ireland that is not affected by neurological needs.

The HSE has advised that plans will be developed to incrementally increase their overall numbers. There has been an overall increase in nursing and midwifery but this needs to be a priority. It is about having the right care in the right place. Having neurological nurses takes pressure off consultant neurologists and allows us to build up what we need for community care in nurse-led clinics, liaison services and outreach programmes. I experienced this recently when meeting Acquired Brain Injury Ireland, which does incredible work. A total of 19,000 people per year are affected by brain injury. Acquired Brain Injury Ireland provides neurorehabilitation. It takes an holistic approach with wraparound services not only for those who suffer a brain injury but also their families, on whom it also has an impact.

We put much emphasis on acute care and care in hospitals but people start a whole new chapter when they leave hospital. There are too many people in the wrong place such as nursing homes. Acquired Brain Injury Ireland takes the care into the community and provides to people in their homes multidisciplinary support including occupational therapists and social workers and psychologists who support the families. It is a no-brainer. This is exactly the kind of service we should support and that the HSE should support. We need to have a conversation about Sláintecare now that we have come through Covid. It would be an apt time for a debate on it. This is exactly the kind of service the HSE needs to support and fund. I call on the HSE to speak directly to Acquired Brain Injury Ireland. Let us improve services.