asked the Minister for Health if he will arrange to have hospital waiting rooms provided with piped music, reading material and refreshment facilities; and, in respect of children's hospitals, if he will arrange to have similar conveniences provided, suitably adapted.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Hospital Waiting Room Facilities.
33.
The provision of such facilities is primarily a matter for the hospital authorities concerned. I am in favour of waiting areas in hospitals being made as pleasant and comfortable as possible and have recently made funds available to enable a number of hospitals to instal snack bars in their out-patients' departments.
A working group is at present examining, among other things, the present arrangements for receiving persons attending out-patients' departments of hospitals with a view to making recommendations as to how these could be improved. The group are considering the special needs of children attending hospital. I expect to receive their report next month.
Would the Minister agree that such a service as piped music would be highly desired and would have a soothing effect on people particularly at a time when they badly need it? Would he recommend to hospitals that they should provide such a service?
I will not. There would be very genuinely conflicting views held about whether or not there should be piped music in out-patients' departments.
Is the Minister aware that such a service is available in the waiting rooms of private dentists?
I would not go so far as to call it a service. Many people would regard it as a nuisance and an annoyance.
On a lower scale it could be very soothing.
That would depend on the tune that was played.
Could I ask the Minister, apart from the absence of desire for the introduction of entertainment by way of piped music, would he not agree that it is much more necessary to try to ensure that the waiting time for all these people would be reduced to a minimum instead of being disgracefully long drawn out?
That is what we have been working at for the last 12 months. We have been trying to improve the situation in that regard. As I mentioned, one of the things I wish to do is to provide refreshments in tea bars and snack bars for the people who have to wait these long periods of time. It would be eminently desirable if we could have people in out-patients' departments dealt with immediately but that is not possible. There are inherent in this situation difficulties which almost inevitably involve some people in having to wait.
It is inefficiency.
It is not inefficiency.
Obviously the Minister is not a music lover.
I do not need to be lectured on this matter or on any other matter.
I know the Minister does not like to be lectured but I am telling him there is up to four hours wait in some of his institutions and that is not excusable.
It is excusable in certain circumstances. I want to explain that one of the first things to which I directed my attention on becoming Minister for Health was the very unsatisfactory conditions in out-patients' departments because I have personal experience of them, particularly in Dublin hospitals, and I set out to see what could possibly be done to reduce the waiting time, to facilitate people, to make them more comfortable while they are there and to reassure them while they are waiting to be seen and looked after. I have been working consistently on this for 12 months and among other things we have provided, in practically all of the major centres, very considerably improved facilities for out-patients. It is a top priority of mine and I resent Deputy Blaney's suggestion that I am not doing anything about it.
I did not say that. What I said was that there is inefficiency in this regard. I did not say there was inefficiency on the Minister's part.
(Interruptions.)
This is a matter of argument now. I am calling the next question.