asked the Minister for Health if he is aware of the anxiety of patients and relatives at the proposal to close a 50-bed unit, and other accommodation restrictions, at St. Joseph's Hospital, Ennis, County Clare; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Ennis Hospital.
4.
The administration of St. Joseph's Hospital, Ennis, is a matter for the Mid-Western Health Board in the first instance and I am assured by the board that any elderly patient in genuine need of accommodation at this hospital will be able to obtain it without any difficulty. Accordingly, there is no need for any anxiety on the part of patients or their relatives regarding the availability of accommodation at St. Joseph's Hospital.
The Deputy will appreciate, of course, that in the current budgetary situation, this board, in common with other health agencies, is examining the whole range of services being provided to see where effective economy measures can be introduced without adversely affecting patient care. The prudent management of bed mumbers at St. Joseph's Hospital and at all other hospitals in the board's area forms an integral part of this examination.
Is the Minister aware that, because of the shortfall in the region of £3 million in the budget for the Mid-Western Health Board, there is now widespread anxiety and problems arising in the hospitals in Ennis and in County Clare as a whole? Is the Minister aware of the chaotic situation which is presently developing? I do not think one can divorce St. Joseph's Hospital from the General Hospital in Ennis as there is an exchange of patients between the hospitals. There is widespread anxiety and chaos in the General Hospital in Ennis. Is the Minister aware that the roof of the General Hospital in Ennis is leaking and they have to put buckets in the corridors and in the wards to collect the water? Does the Minister understand what is happening in the hospital services in County Clare and will he do something about it?
I must confess that there are buckets there, because it took this Minister for Health to allocate the money that will improve the hospital. That is the reality. As the Deputy well knows, this year, with my approval, the board took steps to improve both the ward accommodation and the theatre along with the provision of the second entrance into the second theatre. As a consequence, and to enable those improvements to take place, 38 surgical beds were closed for a limited period and surgical admissions were confined to emergency cases. While the work is in progress surgery is being carried out in a temporary theatre. This work will be finished at the end of July. The surgical beds and service will then be brought back into full use. There will be two separate theatres with independent entrances. Equally, I would point out to the Deputy that a recent report from the fire officer recommended that the number of beds in the hospital should be reduced in order to improve the fire precaution arrangements. As the Deputy knows, the health board have appealed that recommendation to the county council.
These are the developments in the hospital. I regret very much that Deputies are equating all of that with alleged cutbacks. There are no cut-backs in this hospital. The hospital is being urgently improved for the people of County Clare and, as the Deputy knows, there are some 50 surgical beds in the hospital.
A final supplementary question.
Is the Minister aware that the hospital was designed and planned as a 70-bed hospital. There are up to 150 beds in the hospital. There are corridors where there is no room to move, where there are beds lined after beds. Is the Minister aware of the complaints that have been made, including complaints made on national radio, about the situation where there are male and female patients using the same wards and the same toilets? There is a chaotic situation there and could the Minister take immediate steps to remedy this? Could he give us some indication of what he proposes to do about it?
I make the broad point, and the Deputy is well aware of it, that there is a substantial provision of geriatric beds in County Clare. No matter what way one examines the population of the county or the number of elderly persons in the county, it is apparent that between St. Joseph's and the three district hospitals in Ennistymon, Kilrush and Raheen and the various other facilities including the private nursing homes in the area, there is an adequate provision of geriatric beds in that county.
The board have assured me that, where they require the admission of an elderly person to one of those facilities, they do not have any major difficulty with accommodation. That is taking into account the closure last year—and it was an appalling facility which the Deputy's party wanted to keep open—of Edenvale hospital which was a totally unsuitable 30 bed geriatric centre. It was utterly unsuitable for the treatment of the elderly. Fortunately we closed it and as a result we opened the new maternity unit at Cahercalla.
Will the Minister prevail on the health board to ask the authorities at St. Joseph's Hospital and the county hospital in Ennis to co-operate so that there will not be any over-anxiety because of the reduction of 38 beds due to the change in the operating theatres at the county hospital? Will these beds be made available until work is completed in July?
I expect that the surgical service will be brought back into full use at the end of July. Construction and renovation work can be notoriously delayed but, in this case, work is expected to be finished by the end of July. I hope people will co-operate and exercise patience and that politicians will resist the temptation to stir it up. If they want to have a go at the Minister for Health they should find something decent to have a go at him.
Is the Minister aware of the very grave and serious situation that exists in the general hospital in Ennis and that the fire officer of Clare County Council on 28 April 1986 issued a warning to the hospital? If they were to comply with the direction of the fire officer in the county the general hospital should now be closed. Can the Minister tell us what action he intends to take to rectify the very serious situation that exists there and when his Department propose to build the two additional wings to accommodate 15 additional female medical beds and 15 additional male medical beds in the hospital?
The immediate need is to bring the hospital up to conventional medical standards, particularly the surgical unit. I was not satisfied with the conditions there. We provided the money for this work. When it is carried out and when the fire precaution position is fully clarified—as the Deputy knows the health board have appealed the recommendations of the fire officer to the county council—I will be quite happy to meet the Deputies from the constituency to see what further work can be done.
A Cheann Comhairle——
I have been generous with this question. Question No. 5.