Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is lovely to see Senator Flynn in the chair. I thank Senators Kyne and Pauline O'Reilly for raising this important issue. I want to be clear on this because I do not want people to be upset or worried. Admissions to Clifden District Hospital have unfortunately been paused due to lack of staff availability. For people listening who might not understand the situation in Clifden, the hospital has not been closed. I was delighted to visit last August and meet the Senators. Senator Kyne accompanied Deputy Ó Cuív and me to the hospital. It was important for me to see what we were talking about. I was struck because, while I know Connemara, I did not realise how vast it was and that people travel for almost an hour from town to town.

St. Anne's community nursing unit in Clifden has 21 beds and had 21 residents yesterday. They are all under the fair deal scheme. It is important that we protect them because they are long-stay beds. In Clifden District Hospital there are seven beds currently operational for respite, as there were last week when agency staff were used. I spoke to Mr. Mulligan, head of older people in Community Healthcare West, at 9 o'clock this morning. He informed me that agency staff were used last week to keep the respite beds open. There were no agency staff available this week. The hospital is looking for agency staff. It is a concentrated effort every day.

On the other question raised, Mr. Mulligan has also sent a business case to the HSE seeking a derogation for three nursing posts. My position is clear on that. The hospital would have been funded for enough nursing posts for 21 long-stay beds and seven respite beds, which are really important. When somebody retires, is out sick or moves to another job, that post is already funded as far as I am concerned. I will be speaking to Mr. McCallion in the HSE later today to try to get certainty on that. I have answered questions on this matter before. When I visited Clifden last year I was aware that there were challenges in keeping both Clifden District Hospital and St. Anne's community nursing unit open as Community Healthcare West is currently unable to adequately staff both rosters. Staffing at St. Anne's is the priority because there are long-stay residential clients. It is their home from home. For many people it is where they will spend their last days and it is important that is maintained. I agree with prioritising that over respite in this instance. However, it is important that we deliver both.

To be fair, people cannot be expected to travel to Merlin Park University Hospital. It is too far for respite care and for families visiting. There are currently three people on a waiting list for respite in Clifden District Hospital. It is vital those three people get those particular supports. As the Senators know, when I was in Clifden last year I was delighted to announce plans for a total of 40 beds in a brand-new state-of-the-art community nursing unit, consisting of 20 long-stay beds, ten dementia-specific beds and ten short-stay beds, including respite and step-down care. There is no effort being made to close down what is available to the people of Clifden and the surrounding areas. The respite beds are hugely important and I will keep a focus on this every day until we have those beds back open.