Hospital dental and intensive-care services
De Rossa raises the closure of adult dental services for people with intellectual disabilities and reduced intensive-care beds at Crumlin. O’Hanlon promises to provide information on the dental service but gives no specific answer about Crumlin.
What steps is the Minister taking to rectify a position whereby the dental service for adult mentally handicapped people in St. James's hospital has been closed down? Is he aware that the intensive care beds in the Children's Hospital in Crumlin have been reduced from eight to six, resulting in lengthening queues for heart operations for children?
Comment on this
In relation to St. Vincent's hospital and the dental services, I will communicate directly with the Deputies as I have not all the relevant information here. On the question of cut backs to the health boards, the basic problem is that the health boards are effecting savings that should have been effected over the past two years because of an over-run of £55 million allowed by the previous Government.