A&E delays in Cork and Kerry
Deputy Healy-Rae described long waits for emergency patients in Cork and Kerry hospitals and said the problem was not caused by staff. The Health Minister expressed sympathy, asked for the details, and said Project Ireland 2040 would deliver 2,600 extra beds plus new hospital projects for Cork and Kerry.
At 7 p.m. last Sunday an accident victim in the accident and emergency department of Cork University Hospital was told after being triaged that it would be seven hours before he would be seen by a doctor. On Monday, an unwell 77-year-old man went into Kerry University Hospital at 7 p.m. and was told that he would be seen as soon as possible. He got a bed at 8 p.m. on Tuesday. He was in the hospital for 25 hours before he got a bed. The Minister knows what is wrong in accident and emergency departments. It is not the fault of those working in them. Staff such as doctors and nurses are excellent and doing their best. However, it does not make sense that a person sent to hospital by appointment by a doctor can only be admitted through accident and emergency. What is the Minister going to do in that regard to alleviate the pressure in accident and emergency departments in order that hospitals can run more efficiently?
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I thank Deputy Healy-Rae for raising that matter and bringing those two personal cases to my attention. I am very sorry for the experience those people had-----
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-----in Cork and in Kerry as well. He might send me the details regarding them. The Government is very clear on what it intends to do. We do not have a health service that is the appropriate size in terms of meeting the needs of our population. That means we will need more beds in the health service and that is the reason we approved, as part of Project Ireland 2040, the delivery of 2,600 additional hospital beds last Friday, which will see more beds go to Cork and Kerry. As we have also approved a new acute hospital in regard to Kerry and Cork, as well as an elective-only hospital for Cork, the South/South West Hospital Group's capacity will significantly expand.
We are taking a number of interim measures in the meantime, including looking at the front-loading of beds. We will open 300 new beds between the start of this winter and this year as well. We are increasing the capacity of the health service. It will take some time to get to where we want to be but we now have a very clear roadmap.