asked the Minister for Health whether he has received a proposal from the Kildare County Council to use the county fever hospital at Naas for tubercular patients and when he expects to be in a position to give his decision on the proposal.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Kildare Tubercular Patients.
asked the Minister for Health whether he is aware that a considerable number of persons affected with tuberculosis in County Kildare are without institutional care; and, if so, whether he proposes to give any guidance or assistance to the Kildare County Council in dealing with this urgent problem.
With your permission, a Chinn Chomhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 20 and 21 together.
I presume that the Deputy is aware that not every person affected with tuberculosis requires institutional care and that he is referring only to persons who, in the opinion of the competent medical officer, require such care.
Local authorities submit to me each month particulars of the number of persons on the county medical officers' tuberculosis register who are receiving institutional treatment and the number of persons who are on the tuberculosis register who are awaiting such treatment. The total of these two figures should represent the number of persons requiring such treatment. According to the returns submitted to me by the Kildare County Council, the number of adult pulmonary cases in that category for County Kildare rose from 74 at the end of January last to 126 at the end of November. The main rise occurred in June, in which month the numbers rose from 92 to 123. I am still awaiting a reply to an inquiry addressed to the local authority as to the reason for this increase. The 70 per cent. increase from January to November in Kildare is not paralleled in any other area. The number of adults suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis awaiting admission or readmission to institutions rose over that period from eight to 43.
As a solution of the problem, the health authority have proposed that the county fever hospital at Naas be adapted for use as a tuberculosis institution to accommodate about 40 patients.
Before approving of this proposal, I must, of course, be satisfied that alternative accommodation can readily be made available for local cases of infectious desease, other than tuberculosis. I am awaiting further information from the health authority in regard to this matter and as soon as it is received, I shall give an early decision.
Will the Minister not agree that, though obviously for the purpose of his Department he must ascertain the cause of the rise, yet the operative factor is that there are such cases awaiting treatment? There are about 50 cases behindhand, waiting for treatment, some of them for the best part of five months, according to the information in my possession. Would the Minister give the dates upon which the local authority was asked to give this information to him which he suggests has not been furnished?
I cannot give that.
Would the Minister go into the matter personally? I am not treating this as a political matter but my information is that the boot is on the other foot, that we are awaiting replies from his Department and that it is because his Department wish to utilise the Naas Fever Hospital for that purpose that we are not allowed to use it for tuberculosis patients.
That is not true. I can assure the Deputy that if an alternative place can be got for infectious diseases this scheme will go through.
There is no question of trying to hold Naas Fever Hospital in reserve for other diseases?
No.