asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the remarks made by Professor W. J. E. Jessop, Professor of Social Medicine, Trinity College, Dublin at the Statistical and Social Inquiry Society of Ireland in Dublin on 26th April with regard to the lack of teaching equipment in the training hospitals in this country; whether he will investigate the situation whereby the medical schools are responsible for providing teaching equipment for medical students, whether in the universities or in the hospitals, while the Hospitals Trust Fund may not be used for any educational work of this type, and the medical schools have no rights over property installed in the hospitals; and whether he will take steps towards co-ordinating the various aspects of medical training within the hospitals with a view to reducing the number of authorities involved and enabling Hospitals Trust funds to be used for improving hospital facilities for training.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Teaching Equipment in Training Hospitals.
I have seen a copy of the paper read by Senator Professor Jessop recently at a meeting of the Statistical and Social Inquiry Society of Ireland.
In the course of that paper the speaker did not refer to any need to investigate, or otherwise deal with, the situation in which the medical schools are responsible for the provision of facilities or equipment in those schools for such portion of the course for medical students as is appropriate to be conducted in those schools. As far as I am aware, there is no complaint on this score but, in any event, if there were such complaint it would be inappropriate that I should investigate it, as is suggested by the Deputy, since the statutory functions in regard to this matter rest with the Minister for Education.
The speaker mentioned difficulties which arise in the financing by the medical teaching bodies of the provision of accommodation and equipment for the teaching of medical students in hospitals. It is clear from his remarks that he had the voluntary teaching hospitals particularly in mind.
The Deputy does not appear to appreciate that the facilities provided for the treatment of patients in the teaching hospitals are adequate for the major portion of the clinical training of medical students in those hospitals. In fact, the complaint of the speaker at the recent meeting appears to have been limited to the narrow field of laboratory facilities in the hospitals in excess of those needed for the treatment of the hospital patients and to lecture halls.
I am not clear as to what the Deputy has in mind when he asks in the last part of the question whether "I will take steps towards co-ordinating the various aspects of medical training within the hospitals with a view to reducing the number of authorities involved." If the Deputy will put down a more specific question, I shall endeavour to deal with it; but at this stage I feel that I should point out that, as I understand the situation, only two kinds of authority are concerned, the medical schools and the hospitals, both of which are very jealous of their autonomy and independence, and I feel that neither would welcome an incursion by a Minister for Health, even as a co-ordinating agency.