Vol. 383 No. 6
asked the Minister for Health if he has satisfied himself that sufficient nursing and medical staff are available to meet the requirements of patients in the various hospitals both private and health board within the Eastern Health Board area; whether nursing staff are expected to work extra hours in order to provide adequate cover; if he will give a list of all such hospitals; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
59.
asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to insufficient staffing levels in various hospitals within the functional area of the Eastern Health Board; if he has obtained a report from each hospital indicating the staff/patient ratio in each hospital in this area; whether the current number of nursing staff on duty at any one time reflects ideal staffing levels in long stay, surgical or medical wards; whether there is a need for an improvement in the staff/patient ratios in the hospitals concerned; if he will list the hospitals in which optimum staffing arrangements do not apply; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
179.
asked the Minister for Health whether he has satisfied himself that sufficient nursing and medical staff are available in the various hospitals throughout the Eastern Health Board area including those controlled by the board; whether he has satisfied himself that there exists in each hospital sufficient staff to cope with the demands without seriously affecting the quality of the nursing or medical care; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 32, 59 and 179 together.
As the Deputy will appreciate, the level of activity and the staffing which can be made available in each hospital is dependent on the level of resource which can be provided. It is now generally agreed that our economic circumstances require a reduction in public expenditure including expenditure on health services. In this situation, it is incumbent on each health agency to ensure that the funding which is made available to it is allocated to meet essential and priority services. I am satisfied that the resource which is provided to hospitals is sufficient to cater for the provision and adequate staffing of these services. My Department has directed local management to ensure that these services are protected and in the current year an employment control mechanism has been established which enables critical staff vacancies to be filled. This mechanism also allows my Department to undertake detailed monitoring of the changes taking place in staffing in the health boards and hospitals. Inevitably, problems will arise but these can be resolved at local level. For example, in the case of St. James's Hospital where the matter of nursing staff working extra hours arose, measures have been introduced and accepted by staff which will ensure that extra hours will be worked by nursing staff in emergency cases only.
