I compliment the Minister of State for sticking to his guns as regards smoking. He is a credit to us all.
The Minister for Health should provide the necessary funds to alleviate the serious overcrowding at the County Hospital, Roscommon. I raise this matter as a result of consultations with staff, patients and people from the local community who have made representations to me. There is broad consensus in Roscommon that the problem of overcrowding in the county hospital should be resolved. The county hospital has a bed complement of approximately 85 beds. This is made up of 35 medical beds in St. Coman's Ward, 16 beds in St. Teresa's ward which is used for geriatric and acute patients, mostly for acute ones in recent times, 25 surgical beds and 4 coronary care unit beds. Recently the hospital has suffered serious overcrowding. It has been running at a capacity of 140 per cent. There are many dangers to this, especially that of cross-infection. These numbers above and beyond the complement of the hospital are in breach of fire safety regulations. Apart from that, the patients, nursing, medical and ancillary staff suffer major trauma.
The hospital's level of activity has increased at a dramatic rate over recent years. In 1993, some 4,037 patients were admitted; in 1994 the figure was 4,370; in 1995 it was 4,526 and up to 1 September 1996, the figure was 3,382. This shows that the hospital is moving towards an extra admission rate of 25 per cent over a four year period. The hospital is playing its part as an acute general medical hospital in the Western Health Board area and is performing its duty alongside general hospitals in Galway and Mayo. Bed occupancy has been at 133 per cent for the first six months of this year. Between 1,100 and 1,200 people per month attend the casualty unit.
Staff are under such strain they have threatened industrial action. A strike ballot began last night in the hospital and if the problem is not solved it is intended that some level of industrial action will take place before the end of November. This position I outline is fully supported by the Western Health Board and I have documentary evidence that as far back as August this year the decision of the management of the hospital, in conjunction with the Western Health Board was to write to the Department of Health requesting funds to open an extra 15 medical beds in the hospital. To date there has been no reply.
The decision of the programme manager in charge of the acute hospitals in the Western Health Board areas states:
I support the request for extra beds despite the fact that the current national policies seem to shift resources from hospitals to the community. Roscommon County Hospital satisfied all the criteria that categorise a busy general community hospital and there appears to be a genuine resource shortfall i.e. not enough of accommodation.
That is the consensus after full investigation and consultation with the management and staff of the hospital by the programme manager. I understand the union representing the nursing staff sought a meeting with the Department of Health. There has been no response to this either.
It is widely rumoured, and with some foundation, that there is an attempt to cap the number of beds in the hospital, particularly in the medical ward. An instruction may be given that nobody is to be taken above the 35 bed level. There are often 40 beds in use but if an instruction is given to keep it at 35 that would amount to capping. While it will keep the numbers down, it will not address the problems that exist. It may resolve the fire safety issue or stop overcrowding in the corridors, but it will not solve the problems of the people of Roscommon who need to be admitted to the hospital.
I ask the Minister for a joint decision by the Department and the Western Health Board to stop the overcrowding in the hospital but not to do it by capping the bed numbers. I propose that what was known originally in the hospital as St. Teresa's ward be reopened. I understand that has been decided at health board level provided clearance is received from the Department for funding of capital works and staffing. The capital costs involved would be very little.
A fire escape and some minor refurbishment is all that is needed and the ward could be staffed by seven or eight nurses. For the sake of the Roscommon people, those who run our fine hospital and the peace of mind of the patients, give them the facility of the extra 15 beds and allow the staff to do their work in a proper fashion and give the care necessary to the people who seek treatment in the county hospital.
