Róisín Garvey (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. I take it from her answer that the opening hours will not be extended past 8 p.m. I reject the findings of the HSE working group. To say all injury clinics should be treated the same and all should open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. is not good enough for us in County Clare. We are the only region in Ireland that does not have model 3 hospital. There should be a special case made for Ennis Hospital, unless the HSE wants to provide us with a model 3 hospital. I do not see that happening because it has not been mentioned by anyone in the HSE.

The Minister of State indicated that the medical assessment units will open for 16 hours a day by the end of quarter 3, which is in six days' time. Does that mean I can tell everyone in Clare they can relax because we have been told by the HSE working group and the Minister of State that we will see this happen in six days' time?

The answer is not satisfactory. We need the injury clinics expanded to later hours. We have no model 3 hospital. After 8 p.m. people in Clare have to go to Limerick hospitals. To say the HSE working group finds that opening the emergency department until 8 p.m. is sufficient does not give me and the people of Clare any solace.

When I criticise UHL it is never a criticism of the staff. The staff are killing themselves. They are so stressed out and in such a difficult position because they are stuck dealing with patients who sometimes take things out on them. We cannot shoot the messenger. There are huge issues in UHL and we are trying to find some solutions. This is one.