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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 9 Oct 2003

Vol. 572 No. 2

Accident and Emergency Services.

I have approximately ten questions to ask the Minister of State, Deputy Callely, in relation to the James Connolly Memorial Hospital in Blanchardstown. Why is the €97 million building lying virtually unopened and unused at a time of great medical need in the area? Why were patients treated in the car park of the James Connolly Memorial Hospital last week while a beautiful state of the art accident and emergency unit lies completed for nine months but unopened?

Why is the accident and emergency unit currently in use in the hospital dilapidated and overcrowded, to such an extent that families and relatives cannot even stay with the patients while a new building remains unopened? Why did the patients have to go on strike – it must be a first in Irish hospital history – because of the dreadfulness of their conditions while the new €97 million building lies unopened?

Why do the Northern Area Health Authority and the Minister for Health and Children not recognise the massive increase in population in Blanchardstown, acknowledged by the county council this week to be over 90,000 people? Is the Minister waiting on the Hanly report to be published to effectively downgrade the James Connolly Memorial Hospital? Why are the major teaching hospitals in Dublin now referred to in press releases by the Department as the "five major hospitals"? Those five major hospitals no longer appear to include the James Connolly Memorial Hospital, although it is serving one of Ireland's biggest built-up areas.

What is the cost of keeping the new wing closed with just a small area in operation for some emergency cardiac cases as compared to the cost of fully opening the new €97 million building? Can the Minister give a definitive date for the full opening and commissioning of the building? Why are the wonderful staff of the James Connolly Memorial Hospital extremely demoralised? Why are many of the staff choosing to leave? Why are many of the Filipino nurses, brought here and trained at great expense, deciding to leave? This is another debacle of Government management.

This debacle at the James Connolly Memorial Hospital is affecting the 90,000 people who live in the Dublin 15 area, plus the other 20,000 people in the County Meath area who use the hospital. Why does the Minister for Health and Children not follow the advice of Dr. Neligan on radio recently and resign as a response to the disgrace of his lack of management of the hospital? This is despite the fact that over €100 million of public capital funds was spent on the building and the project completed some time ago. The Government is going slow on the final stages of commissioning the building to delay the opening. How can the Government claim serious management of the economy when we have a public scandal of patients in the car park and the accident and emergency department which one would not see in most parts of Africa? I say that from personal experience, having been in the accident and emergency department frequently.

A wonderful staff who give a service second-to-none are now largely demoralised. These are expensively recruited nurses, many who come from the Philippines, who give this excellent service. They are now being recruited by the British health service when many of them, if the options were there, would choose to stay in Ireland. Why does the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Martin, not hand in his resignation?

Listening to Deputy Burton, one would assume that everything is doom and gloom in the health services and that the Minister for Health and Children should resign forthwith. Deputy Burton is wrong. We have an excellent Minister who is doing a tremendous job with the 100,000 people employed in the provision of health services. It is disingenuous for Deputy Burton to say to them that they are not doing a good job. A great job is being done in health by 100,000 people—

Does the Minister of State believe that Dr. Neligan was wrong?

I know Dr. Maurice Neligan very well and he is a very nice man. Deputy Burton should be aware that we are spending shy of €10 billion on health this year. To put that into perspective, every cent we collect on income tax goes straight back into health care. In direct response to Deputy Burton's questions, she is wrong, but I do not wish to embarrass her.

I am not wrong.

As the Deputy is aware, the Eastern Regional Health Authority is charged with responsibility for commissioning health and personal social services on behalf of the population of the region and those outside the region who are referred for specialist treatment. James Connolly Memorial Hospital provides acute medical and surgical services to the catchment area of north-west County Dublin, north County Kildare, and south County Meath. Deputy Burton indicated that the population catchment is 90,000 people with the additional 20,000 from County Meath.

I said in the immediate Dublin 15 area.

The population is 256,000. It is the fastest growing catchment area in the eastern region. There are currently 348 beds in the hospital, 110 of which are extended care beds and 1,000 staff are doing a tremendous job. Accident and emergency services are provided in James Connolly Memorial Hospital on a 365 day, 24 hour basis as part of the eastern regional network. My Department is advised that construction of phase 1 of the new hospital development at James Connolly Memorial Hospital is complete, with the exception of some snagging work being carried out by the contractors. We know the process in this regard and that is the way we want it to de done – work complete, snagging complete. This major development is being funded jointly by the Northern Area Health Board and my Department.

Deputy Burton continually referred to €97 million funding. I am pleased to state that the project cost is €101.4 million, and I hope it will not stop at that figure. I have no doubt there will be more funding.

Why are there locks then on the doors?

This includes an amount of €5 million approved earlier this year to facilitate refurbishment works at the hospital which were identified and brought to the attention of the Department by my colleague, the Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Deputy Brian Lenihan, who secured that allocation. These are necessary as part of the transition process to the new hospital and to facilitate a land transfer in line with the project development arrangements.

There has been progress recently in commissioning the new facilities, again following the intervention by the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Brian Lenihan. The coronary care unit, formerly located in unit 7, has recently moved to the new building together with 35 medical and cardiac beds. In addition, the therapeutic treatment centre has moved to its new location on the ground floor of the new facility. The Eastern Regional Health Authority, Northern Area Health Board and management of James Connolly Memorial Hospital are also finalising arrangements to transfer existing accident and emergency services to the new facility upon its anticipated completion in November.

I have been around it. Has the Minister of State been there?

The Minister of State, Deputy Brian Lenihan, has been around it and I will be. I understand the completion date is within four weeks. We expect the building will be in use in November.

The additional revenue required to further commission the new facilities will be the subject of consideration as part of the estimates process for 2004. Currently, accident and emergency services at James Connolly Memorial Hospital are being provided from the existing facility and the hospital is currently experiencing similar—

And the car park.

The Deputy is misleading the House. I will deal with that question. The Deputy is wrong in many of her questions. I will answer it and it will be my bottom line to the Deputy.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Order.

Accident and emergency services are being provided from existing facilities and the hospital is currently experiencing similar pressures with regard to increased patient volume as in other accident and emergency departments throughout the region. This is the norm for an accident and emergency department. There are peaks and valleys.

What about car parks?

The Eastern Regional Health Authority, the Northern Area Health Board and management of James Connolly Memorial Hospital are currently planning to move existing accident and emergency services to the new facility upon its completion. Discussions are at an advanced stage with regard to securing the additional funding required to move the existing surgical units to the new facility, which is currently being equipped, again arising from the intervention of the Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Deputy Brian Lenihan.

James Connolly Memorial Hospital has gained significantly from the recent long-stay initiative with 24 patients expected to benefit from the programme and be placed in a more appropriate community setting. This will have a direct and positive impact on accident and emergency services in so far as the vacated beds will be available for acute admissions from the department.

The Eastern Regional Health Authority has informed me that, despite the unprecedented increase in demand for accident and emergency services experienced at James Connolly Memorial Hospital last week, at no time were patients treated in the car park.

The Minister of State should check with the nurses. He should be ashamed of himself.

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