asked the Minister for Health why the Irish Private Hospitals' and Nursing Homes' Association were not invited to send a representative to the Waterford seminar on health services.
25.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Health Services' Seminar.
24.
asked the Minister for Health if he will state who was invited to the Waterford seminar on health services.
I propose, with the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, to reply to Questions Nos. 24 and 25 together. I also propose, with the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, to circulate with the Official Report a tabular statement listing the 39 bodies who were invited to send representatives to the seminar.
In organising the seminar I had of necessity to keep the numbers attending to manageable size. As I said in my closing address to the seminar I would have liked to have had even broader representation present. A number of bodies including the Irish Private Hospitals' and Nursing Homes' Association asked me after I had issued invitations if they could send representatives. I am grateful to these bodies for the interest they have shown in the seminar but unfortunately I could not agree to broaden the scope of representation beyond those bodies which are listed in the tabular statement.
Following is the Statement:
HEALTH Services' Seminar, Waterford 15-17 May, 1975.
List of bodies who were invited to send representatives.
Department of Health
Department of Social Welfare
Department of Finance
Department of the Public Service
Eastern Health Board
Midland Health Board
Mid-Western Health Board
North Eastern Health Board
North Western Health Board
South Eastern Health Board
Southern Health Board
Western Health Board
National Health Council
Comhairle na nOspidéal
Council for Postgraduate Medical and Dental Education and Training
National Social Service Council
Medico-Social Research Board
Medical Research Council of Ireland
Voluntary Health Insurance Board
National Association for the Mentally Handicapped of Ireland
Institute of Public Administration
James Connolly Memorial Hospital, Dublin
St. Laurence's Hospital, Dublin
Jervis Street Hospital
St. Vincent's Hospital, Elm Park
St. James's Hospital, Dublin
Mater Hospital, Dublin
Federated Dublin Voluntary Hospitals
North Charitable Infirmary, Cork
South Charitable Infirmary, Cork
Mercy Hospital, Cork
Irish Congress of Trade Unions
Irish Medical Association
Society of Medical Officers of Health
Medical Union
Irish Dental Association
Irish Nurses' Organisation
Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland
Royal College of Psychiatrists
Would the Minister accept that there is no reason why these bodies should have been excluded, no reason why private hospitals should have been excluded, or is the Minister not prepared to acknowledge the contribution they are making to the present position?
I am, of course, but many other bodies were not included. I tried to make the seminar as broad as possible. I admitted to the House that it was in the nature of an experiment and it proved very successful. If it had been otherwise, we would have had different comments from the House.
Has the Minister done anything to make amends for what we accept for the moment as the unintentional affront offered to the private hospitals?
I do not consider that it was an affront.
If they do, would the Minister accept their word? Obviously they do.
Very many organisations wanted to be included but it was not possible to invite them all. I invited what I thought was a representative gathering of all the professions.
Who did the Minister invite to represent the actual patient? I am not concerned about the professions.
Yes, that did concern me. The public representatives were there to represent the patients.
Is the Minister satisfied that the public representatives present were in a position, having regard to the medical politics which operated, fully to represent the position of the unfortunate—shall we say—patient?
The unfortunate patient, as the Deputy terms him, was represented fully in my view by representatives of the various political parties and by independent members of county councils and health boards.
The report did not show that. I saw where the professions were represented but I did not see any report that would convince me that there was anybody present whose sole concern would be for the patients.
Surely the nurses would be concerned about patients and they were invited.
It might be natural that they would be interested in representing their own position.
No. I do not believe that anybody there was trying to push his own interest. It was for the good of the health services that they were there and their deliberations proved that.
Without meaning to encourage a post mortem may I ask the Minister if in future he would not be led or misled by the dictates of his officials into having a rigid system of having a list of people who can be invited? To make some amends for this, would he ensure that the proceedings of this seminar are published and made available to every Deputy? We are the people who vote the money. We should have a say in what is happening and we should make decisions on the basis of that seminar. Would the Minister ensure that we get a copy of the report which he says he proposes to have published?
Perhaps the Deputy was absent but I did already announce on one occasion that it was intended to publish this information. I am the person responsible for the selection.
The remaining questions will appear on tomorrow's Order Paper.