asked the Minister for Health if he will state (a) the date on which he received a recommendation from Kildare County Council that Naas Fever Hospital should be used for the accommodation of persons suffering from tuberculosis; (b) the date on which he gave his approval to the recommendation; (c) the conditions, if any, upon which this approval was given; and (d) whether, having regard to the urgent need for the provision of this extra accommodation, he has satisfied himself as to the causes of the delay in making this accommodation available.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Kildare Tubercular Patients.
(a) I was informed by letter dated 11th October, 1951, that Kildare County Council, at a meeting on the 24th September, had approved of a recommendation in regard to the conversion of Naas Fever Hospital for use for the accommodation and treatment of tubercular patients.
(b) My approval in principle of the proposal of the local authority to use the Naas Fever Hospital, as proposed, was conveyed in a letter dated 27th February, 1952. The delay between the time the proposal was made and the date of the sanction was due to inability to get from the local authority information which satisfied me that the hospital could be converted, as proposed, without impairing the efficiency of the service necessary to deal with other infectious diseases, including smallpox, should an epidemic occur.
(c) the approval mentioned was given subject to the condition that the county medical officer was satisfied that satisfactory alternative arrangements had been made for the care of persons from County Kildare who would normally have been admitted to the Naas Fever Hospital and to arrangements being made whereby, in the event of an outbreak or suspected outbreak of smallpox in County Kildare or in any of the adjoining counties, either the Nass Institution or Firmount Sanatorium would be evacuated within 24 hours and made available as a regional smallpox centre.
(d) I have not satisfied myself as to the causes of the delay in making this accommodation available. I had understood from the date of the sanction given in principle to the proposal, viz., 27th February, 1952, until a letter was received in my Department dated 26th May, 1952, that all arrangements were in train for the conversion of the hospital. It was only on the last-mentioned date that I was informed that the matter of acceptance by the council of the conditions laid down in the sanction had not been cleared up and that it would not be before the council until 30th June. The reason given for not having made the necessary local arrangements earlier was that matters which had been raised in a report of the Kildare chief medical officer dated 12th June, 1951, which had been transmitted to my Department without comment on the 27th of that month, had not been settled by the Department. There were 12 such matters, including—I am quoting from the report—"the precise amount of additional remuneration proposed for any substantial additional responsibilities accruing to the county medical officer from the proposal", "the bringing of arrangements to press-button level of operation", and "definite cutting of operation", and "definite cutting of red tape when and if emergency arises". Those of the 12 matters which had any substance were matters to be dealt with by the local authority in the light of prevailing local circumstances, some to finality without reference to my Department and others to be the subject of definite proposals from the local authority to my Department, and I am unable to understand why the local authority in this instance should have greater difficulty in bringing this matter to finality than the other local authorities which made very considerable rearrangements of their hospital accommodation so as to meet the need for increased beds for tuberculosis.
Will the Minister state on what date the officials of his Department of the rank of inspector attended on the local authority and had discussions about the matter to which he refers?
I am afraid I will have to get notice of that.
Does not the Minister think that that would be a very vital factor in discussing the delay?
It might, or it might not.
As the Minister is receiving a deputation, it is better not to have the war in advance.