Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State is very welcome to the House this afternoon. Yesterday, the management at Cavan General Hospital issued a statement to local media requesting that non-urgent people would not attend the hospital because of the high volumes they were experiencing. Instead, they asked that patients with non-critical issues to contact their GP or indeed their pharmacy for assistance. This brings into focus again, from our perspective in Monaghan, the role that Monaghan Hospital and, in this instance, the role the injuries unit in Monaghan could provide to help alleviate the pressure on emergency departments, not just in Cavan but in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda as well.

Thankfully, the injuries unit in Monaghan is now open seven days per week from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. They treat a wide range of injuries at the hospital. Neither an appointment nor a GP referral is needed to be seen there. I pay tribute to the very professional, caring and dedicated staff who operate there. The place has gone from strength to strength since it has been open seven days a week. Many people are being treated there who would otherwise end up in an accident and emergency department. That is a very positive development.

That is why I was interested in a development that is taking place now in Roscommon University Hospital, whereby some patients are being transferred directly to Roscommon injuries unit by ambulance if they meet the strict criteria, which is a very welcome development. I understand the National Ambulance Service and Roscommon University Hospital have agreed a programme that involves strict clinical and geographical criteria that will see a small cohort of patients, not a large number, with minor injuries being transferred by the National Ambulance Service to the injuries unit for treatment. Opening this new pathway will allow paramedics to bring patients to the most appropriate location and for the most appropriate treatment to be given. That is a very welcome development. It will in turn alleviate the pressure on the likes of the accident and emergency department in that location.

From my perspective, I would like to see a similar development with the injuries unit in Monaghan whereby if it meets the proper criteria as regards geography and clinical need, patients could be transferred directly to Monaghan injuries unit by ambulance to receive their treatment there. As I said, the injuries unit treats many minor injuries. The numbers going through the doors at the moment have been very progressive. It is growing in popularity and strength as people become more and more aware of it.

I very much welcome the development in Roscommon injuries unit and I would like to see a similar arrangement taking place between the National Ambulance Service and the hospital in Monaghan whereby patients appropriately triaged by the paramedic at the scene would be able to be transferred directly to the injuries unit in Monaghan, as opposed to travelling to an accident and emergency department, such as in Cavan or Drogheda, which are under immense pressure already. It is a very common-sense proposal. I commend them on taking this on board. I look forward to a similar arrangement being put in place in Monaghan injuries unit and indeed in other injuries units. I look forward to the Minister of State giving the Minister for Health’s position on that.