asked the Minister for Health the plans he has for the future development of hospital maternity services; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Hospital Maternity Services.
8.
My plans, which include estimates of cost, for the medium term development of the health infrastructure are under consideration by the Government. These plans include provision for the future development of hospital maternity services. I am not in a position to make a definitive statement on these plans until the capital allocation for the medium term for my Department is determined.
Has the Minister any criteria by which he decides which maternity units he wishes to close and which he leaves open?
The criteria will be those which successive Governments have adopted in the past five years and which I will continue to implement. Successive Ministers, including my three immediate predecessors, have adopted those criteria.
Can the Minister tell us what those criteria are, as his statement is in conflict with what previous Ministers did? There are maternity units closed which previous Ministers said should remain open.
I repeat that the only maternity units which I closed are in Trim and Dungarvan, Trim as a result of a decision by the North-Eastern Health Board because it was in a dangerous condition. In the case of Dungarvan I decided to accept the casting vote of the chairman that it should be closed because it was not adequate to provide the type of maternity services required. They are the only two which have been closed contrary to all of the propaganda about maternity services.
Can I take it from the Minister's reply that if a health board believe that a maternity unit should remain open the Minister will not close it?
The Deputy is referring to the North-Eastern Health Board and my position vis-á-vis that board is sub judice. There will be a hearing in the High Court in January and I am precluded from commenting on it.
Is the Minister aware that since he came to office a maternity unit in the Southern Health Board area, in Bantry, has been closed against the wishes of the Southern Health Board?
The maternity unit has not been closed by me. It was unable to provide services because the resident physician, Dr. McCoy, suffered a serious medical condition, as is public knowledge, and was unable to continue to provide a service there. I was unable to agree to the appointment of a consultant obstetrician/gynaecologist for a unit of that size and I proposed to make alternative arrangements, namely, to provide outpatient obstetrical and paediatrician services in that hospital, which it never had before. I also propose to make arrangements for dealing with emergency services in Bantry. Up to last February, when it closed, there were approximately four births each week and one could not justify the appointment of a consultant which, with back-up services, could cost £100,000 per year.
Is it the Minister's intention to provide the necessary finance required to enable the Western Health Board to open a new maternity extension to the maternity department of the Galway Regional Hospital which has been completed and handed over by the builder? It has been vacant for the past six months.
My Department have had discussions from time to time in relation to the Galway Regional maternity unit which has been completed. It should be within the competence and financial resources of the Western Health Board to deploy staff from within their budget to enable that unit to be opened if they wish to do so. In 1984 there will be a severe limitation in my Department's Vote for the provision of new services in the context of more nurses, consultants and staff for a particular unit. With the staff they have in Galway and the surrounding counties, they should be able to provide a service for the maternity wing in Galway as the number of births in the western region have not increased to the extent that they are demanding additional resources.
I understood that Department officials had made it known to the Western Health Board that, while they were quite prepared to accept following discussions with the Western Health Board officials that the extra staff were really required to operate the unit successfully, they had some difficulty in convincing the Department of Finance officials? Would the Minister try to convince his colleague at the Cabinet table and perhaps then the unit could be opened and we would have an efficient service available in Galway?
I accept that some additional staffing within the unit concerned — I have visited it — is required; but I still contend that, apart from minor revenue adjustments on the part of my Department, it should be within the ability of the Western Health Board to make arrangements for the phased opening and the relieving of congestion in the maternity wing of Galway Regional Hospital.
I am a great believer that once something is put into operation, amazing work can be done by whatever manpower is available. Too many people hold off, saying they require, say, an additional 50 people, instead of availing of the unit that has been provided and helping people in that way.
Is the Minister refusing to sanction the extra money?
I am calling Question No. 9.