Michael Finucane
Ceist:6 Mr. Finucane asked the Minister for Health if he will sanction a five day ward for Tralee General Hospital, County Kerry as promised in November 1989 during the occasion of his visit to the hospital.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Tralee General Hospital Accommodation.
I presume that the Deputy is referring to proposals concerning the opening of 15 day beds at Tralee General Hospital.
During my visit to Tralee General Hospital last November, I was informed by staff of the hospital of the needs of the hospital, including the arguments in favour of opening 15 day beds. As promised, I conveyed the comments made by the staff to the chairman and chief executive officer of the Southern Health Board. As the Deputy is aware, the provision of services at the hospital is primarily a matter for the Southern Health Board.
It is obvious that the Minister is washing his hands of the problems in the health services in County Kerry. Over the past two years 60 beds have been lost in this hospital and there are now only 229 acute beds, which are not sufficient to cater for the needs of County Kerry and outside areas. If 15 five day beds were provided in this hospital a number of elective cases could be dealt with so that some of the longest waiting lists in the country could be reduced. In the present circumstances——
I must dissuade the Deputy from making a speech.
There is no way Tralee General Hospital can deal with these waiting lists.
I do not accept what the Deputy has said. I am not wiping my hands of the problems in the health services in County Kerry; I am very conscious of the needs of County Kerry. Indeed, this was reflected in the additional allocation which was made to the Southern Health Board in 1989 — £180,000 was provided for Tralee General Hospital. That allowed 50 extra hip replacement operations, the employment of an ENT surgeon to treat additional patients at Tralee General Hospital and the purchase of ENT equipment. The Southern Health Board had proposed the closure of further beds on 1 September 1989 but this was avoided by the intervention of the Government.
I am calling Deputy Dick Spring.
May I——
Deputy Spring has been called.
It is my question.
It is not the Deputy's question.
The question before me is in the name of Deputy Michael Finucane.
The Deputy is not sure of himself.
The Minister may feel in all honour that he was fulfilling the promise he made to the staff during his well publicised visit to Tralee General Hospital last November. The undertaking he gave was in fact that he would ensure that the 15 day beds would be reopened as soon as possible. It is rather farcical for him to say that he will communicate that to the health board because the health board are well aware of the problem. I put it to the Minister given that the health board are at present short £3 million this year, that unless he provides additional funding, communicating with the chairman or the chief executive officer of the health board is a farcical exercise.
I have an advantage over Deputy Spring as to what happened at the meeting at Tralee because I was there. I know what we agreed. We agreed that I would speak to the chairman and the chief executive officer, because I meet them on a regular basis, and that I would draw their attention to the points raised at that meeting in Tralee.
You are becoming more ridiculous by the second, Minister.