Aisling Dolan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I also thank the Labour Party Senators for tabling this motion. It is a serious issue. I speak on behalf of the Roscommon and Galway area and in particular, Portiuncula University Hospital which is in my own home town. Huge numbers of patients are presenting at the emergency department at the moment. The hospital is also seeing a lot more people presenting with addiction problems related to both alcohol and drugs. Such patients are presenting at the emergency department. What I would like to see the HSE addressing is the issue of different categories of staff. We have porters in our hospitals but they cannot be expected to take on a security role as well. The HSE must make sure that our hospitals have the right staff to monitor addiction-related behaviour that has increased exponentially in some areas in the past year. It is not acceptable that healthcare staff, who now number close to 140,000, up from just over 110,000 three years ago, would have to work in already confined spaces and deal with people in traumatic situations. I really cannot imagine it. It frustrates me and I appreciate the fact that this motion has been brought before the House.

As the motion notes, the HSE needs to make staff available to support healthcare workers, monitor patient behaviour and tackle this problem. I welcome the fact that there has been a considerable increase in staff numbers. There is a recognition on the part of the Department of Health and the Government that we must have the staff to deal with the pressure we have seen over the last two years. The challenge is that we are seeing a different type of pressure now, outside of Covid, particularly in these behavioural-type events that are happening in our hospitals. No one wants to see it. It would be great if we did not need to have proper security. I ask the Minister to speak to the role of porters and security staff in hospitals. Is there general HSE guidance around that?

The other issue I wish to raise may not be under the remit of the Department of Health. Gardaí are required to attend to incidents in our towns and cities across Ireland. In our cities we have generous numbers of Garda members, although more are always needed, but in small towns that is not the case. We must look at the fact that incidents that are happening in hospitals are having an impact on gardaí who are being called out to attend to them.

This is not an easy issue in the context of everything that the Minister has tackled in the last two years. The supports that he has put around regional hospitals are very much appreciated. What he has done in the community healthcare organisation, CHO, area as well, around supports for Westdoc, is also welcome. The Minister has sought to ensure that community supports are in place as well. The area where this is an issue is in our hospitals, particularly in towns. Staff may never have faced this before but in the last year or two, it seems that there has been a lot more incidents. On the CHO side, is there any consideration of addiction centres? There is one in Galway that the Minister opened recently. Addiction centres are needed, particularly for alcohol. In Ballinasloe, we have a day hospital. The addiction centre deals with patients who have a primary diagnosis on the mental health side before it deals with the alcohol side. I am wondering if there is capacity for pilots around centres in addiction studies. That would be very much appreciated, as it might alleviate some of the pressures that we are seeing presenting in the last year. Again, this is just what we are hearing from staff on the ground.