This Government has spoken many times in the past ten years about the delivery of a world-class health service. It was the Government's number one commitment before the last election and has turned out to be the number one hoax from Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats. This has been the case for ten years, billions of euro have been spent by three Ministers for Health and Children, and the service is absolutely appalling in some circumstances.
At Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda the midwife staffing levels are far below what they should be. Mr. Patrick Kinder, the head of the maternity task force there, said this showed the extent of serious risk to women in the north east who are forced to rely on the services of this hospital. Women attending the maternity unit there must wait until the fifth month or 20th week of pregnancy before seeing an obstetrician. No expectant mother, particularly a young mother with a first pregnancy, should be forced to wait 20 weeks to see an obstetrician when she should have that appointment within 12 to 14 weeks.
That level of "world-class service" is not unique to Drogheda. I received an e-mail from a woman in my county about her experience in Mayo General Hospital in February. She spent three days on a trolley in the accident and emergency unit. To judge from what she told me, her experience was not an isolated incident. Despite the efforts of the fantastic staff to whom she refers, she said the overcrowding was reminiscent of a Third World service and not what should be expected in modern Ireland.
She wrote an eyewitness account on her trolley according to which on Sunday, 25 February she had no pillow and her blanket had a blood-type stain. There was no ladies toilet available, only the gents was working. There was no visible security. On Monday, 26 February a lady with pleurisy was placed opposite an entrance-exit door which opened onto the casualty waiting area. At times one could hear the wind whistling through. There was no place to have a shower. Trolleys blocked areas which bore a sign stating "keep clear at all times".
On Tuesday, 27 February the toilets were absolutely filthy. She said she could not begin to describe the nauseating stench. The patients' trolleys were taken and they were given chairs. When they asked why they were told the trolleys were needed for the day care patients.
That is the lady's summary of the world class health service the Government promised to deliver: more than 30 on trolleys, with no privacy, washing facilities, hot food or visible security. As an elderly woman was escorted down the public corridor her nappy fell off. What does the Taoiseach say to the people who must put up with this standard of care? What does the Taoiseach say to expectant mothers who must wait 20 weeks to see an obstetrician? Is that what the Taoiseach meant when he said his Government, comprising members from Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats, including the absent Minister for Health and Children, would deliver a world-class health service to the people?
