Richard Bruton
Question:25 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Health if he has satisfied himself with conditions for patients at St. Annes-St. Lukes hospitals, Dublin and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Conditions in Dublin Hospitals.
I presume the Deputy is referring to recent allegations made in the Irish Independent which suggested that patients attending St. Luke's-St. Anne's hospitals are suffering distress due to shortage of beds and theraputic radiographers.
At persent, certain services at St. Luke's have been restricted, not due to a lack of funds or beds, but rather due to severe difficulties in recruiting radiographers. There are vacancies for three radiographers and two further radiographers will be resigning shortly, bringing the total number of vacancies to five. The hospital has had major difficulties in recruiting therapeutic radiographers for the past two years despite repeated advertising both at home and in the UK. At present, there is an intake of eight students every three years to the school of therapeutic radiography at St. Luke's-St. Anne's. My Department are giving urgent consideration to a proposal to provide an intake of students to the school every year.
Patients requiring urgent treatment are never turned away from St. Luke's and St. Anne's hospitals. However, I understand that a problem has arisen on a small number of occasions at the hospital, whereby patients who had been booked for admission for radiotherapy have had to be sent home due to non-availability of beds at St. Luke's. This is an unacceptable situation which is related, not to a shortage of funds, but rather due to management problems concerning the booking system and the allocation of beds between the two campuses. The board of the hospital are presently considering a common admissions procedure for the two campuses. Senior officers of my Department have taken this matter up with the management of St. Luke's-St. Anne's to ensure that effective measures are taken to prevent problems of this nature arising again.