Hospital waiting lists in Kerry
Deputy Michael Healy-Rae and then Deputy Danny Healy-Rae raised severe waiting lists, trolley overcrowding and underused community hospitals in Kerry, questioning where extra health funding was going. The Taoiseach said better funding did not always translate into better outcomes and pointed to extra NTPF funding to let patients seek private treatment if needed.
In the programme for Government, clear commitments are given to reducing waiting lists in our hospitals. In a recent reply from the HSE, I was informed that 1,825 people are waiting for X-rays, CT scans and MRI scans in University Hospital Kerry, and that 13,184 in total in the eight hospitals in the South/South West hospital group are waiting for what would be considered very simple and non-time-consuming procedures. This waiting list is far too long. Older citizens in Kerry tell me that they could be waiting up to 12 months for an MRI scan. This is no good for a country that spends so much money on health care. How is the Government still failing to provide adequate health care?
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They say great minds think alike and fools seldom differ. While we have not been talking about it, I want to raise the same thing.
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The Deputies need to co-ordinate a bit more.
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This is not sibling rivalry; it is constituency rivalry.
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The Government committed €950 million extra to the HSE this year. Without fear or favour I can safely state there has been no improvement in the numbers waiting for cataract procedures or orthodontic treatment. Where is the money going? How is it that University Hospital Kerry, Tralee is still overcrowded with people on trolleys in the middle of the summer? Community hospitals that were built new in Dingle and Kenmare are still only half opened. Where is the money going? Is there any accountability? We have four ministers for health. There is nothing happening and no improvement as far as we are concerned in Kerry and indeed many parts of Cork as well.
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I have been asking myself that question for most of the past ten years and still do not know the answer. Certainly, there seems to be a very weak correlation between additional staff and resources and better outcomes for patients. I could never get to the bottom of it but I intend to have another go at it over the next months. The National Treatment Purchase Fund, NTPF, has been provided with a budget of €15 million for this year and an additional €55 million for next year which will allow people to opt to go private if the public health service is not able to provide for them.