Go raibh maith agat. Ar dtús ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil le hoifig an Cheann Chomhairle a thug cead dom an cheist thábhachtach seo a phlé. What steps does the Minister intend to take to end the daily occurrence of overcrowding at St. Joseph's Hospital, Clonmel, and the resultant treatment of acutely ill medical in-patients on the hospital corridors? The position is that anything up to 12 acutely ill elderly patients are being treated on the hospital corridors almost on a daily basis. They have little or no privacy. Their personal belongings are left on the end of their beds. It is difficult if not impossible to bring medical equipment to them and staff at all levels, medical, nursing, non-nursing and administrative, are totally frustrated by the situation that has developed and which continues to be in place.
The lack of medical beds in the hospital has its genesis in cutbacks in medical beds in the south Tipperary area in the mid-1980s when St. Vincent's Hospital in Tipperary Town, with 50 medical beds, was closed by the Fianna Fáil Government of the day. From that day on, there has been difficulty in relation to the question of medical patients being treated on hospital corridors. Staff at all levels are frustrated by the difficulties that have arisen. Patients and their relatives are frustrated also with what is occurring on a daily basis.
Is the Minister aware that industrial action is currently being balloted on by the non-nursing staff who are represented by the SIPTU trade union in the hospital? They find it impossible to do their work and they have drawn attention to various health and safety matters arising from treating patients on the hospital corridors.
Is the Minister aware also of the unacceptable proposal to reduce the number of gynaecological beds in the hospital to try to deal with this problem? That is totally unacceptable and it involves the cancellation of gynaecological procedures in a situation where the gynaecological ward has already been reduced by six beds. Has the South Eastern Health Board applied to the Department for more funds to provide additional beds to deal with this problem? If so, when did it apply? What funds did it request and when does the Minister propose to approve that application?
I am sure the Minister will refer in his reply to the capital development at the hospital, which is welcome but long overdue. However, it will not address this problem since additional medical beds are not involved in that project. Will the Minister take immediate steps to put additional beds in the system in south Tipperary to ensure that patients are treated as human beings and cared for in proper conditions in wards in the hospital. I ask him to put back into the system the 50 beds taken out of it in the 1980s.