Senator Terry Leyden

Wednesday, 23 April 2008
               Senator Leyden defends Roscommon County Hospital

   Speaking to Mary Harney TD, Minister for Health and Children, in the
   Seanad yesterday Senator Terry Leyden raised the issue of the proposed
   reduction of services in Roscommon County Hospital and called on the
   Minister to explain who makes the final decision in these cases. The
   text of the Senator’s speech and the Minister’s reply follows:

   Senator Terry Leyden: I am delighted the Minister is present to discuss
   patient safety. As she will be aware, issues have arisen in County
   Roscommon again. A report on services at Portiuncula Hospital,
   Ballinasloe, and Roscommon County Hospital was presented on 10 April at
   a briefing for members of Roscommon County Council and the Health
   Service Executive west regional health forum. No courtesy was shown to
   myself, as an Oireachtas Member, or my colleague, Deputy Michael
   Finneran, regarding a briefing on this issue. The HSE has issued this
   report in a cavalier fashion. As a former Minister of State at the
   Department of Health and former chairman of the Western Health Board, it
   would have been courteous at least to have been given a copy of the
   document. I obtained a copy of it which was presented to the management
   team of the HSE. I hope it will reach the Minister's desk eventually
   for a decision on the future of acute services at Roscommon County
   Hospital and services at Portiuncula Hospital.
     This issue has gone on for too long. I felt it had been resolved by
   the Minister in September 2006 when she was well aware of the issues and
   the proposals that had been put forward. The matter was discussed last
   night at a meeting of the Fianna Fáil party attended by senior members
   of the Dáil ceantar, councillors and Oireachtas Members. Having gone
   through the document carefully, we felt it was not in the best interests
   of the continuation of acute services at Roscommon County Hospital. The
   proposal is that all acute services should cease at the hospital and
   anaesthetists and surgeons should transfer to Portiuncula Hospital.
     I was chairman of the health board when we signed a contract for a new
   state-of-the-art accident and emergency department at Roscommon County
   Hospital, which was opened by the Taoiseach. Assurances were given by
   him and other senior political figures at the time that the hospital
   would be retained as an acute general hospital. The situation is
   critical. Portiuncula Hospital is between 30 and 50 miles away from
   most people in Roscommon. It is a fine hospital but it is located close
   to four hospitals, two of which are private, in Galway thanks to the new
   national primary route. However, there is an area between Galway and
   Mullingar which does not have acute services.
     The report to which I referred was presented by Mr. Alan Moran to the
   management of the HSE but it would take more time than I have to go
   through every aspect of it. At the end of the day, arising from the
   transfer of all acute surgeons and anaesthetists to Portiuncula
   Hospital, Roscommon County Hospital will not retain its accident and
   emergency department 24-7. It would put patients and people in the
   region at risk. The hospital was used recently following road accidents
   and young people were saved. According to best practice, a patient
   should be in a hospital within an hour of an accident occurring, which
   is referred as the golden hour. Relying on ambulances on inadequate
   roads is not helpful. Of more than 10,000 patients examined in a study
   by the University of Sheffield, the risk of death for patients who were
   unconscious, not breathing or who had chest pains increased by 1% for
   every six miles travelled. Portiuncula Hospital is 30 miles from
   Roscommon County Hospital. Is this a justifiable risk of death due to
   this proposal?
     The Minister attended meetings on 12 September 2006 at which she gave
   commitments on the continuation of acute services at Roscommon County
   Hospital. In May 2007 the Taoiseach stated services at the hospital
   would not be downgraded. The statement was confirmed by Professor Drumm at a meeting of the Joint Committee on Health and Children last
   November. Consultants at Roscommon County Hospital have written to the
   HSE. The Minister is well aware of the circumstances of the county
   hospital, the demand for continuation for services, the upgrading of
   services that has taken place with the provision of a new accident and
   emergency department, theatres and a CAT scanner, and the investment
   that has taken place over recent years. I believed the issue had been
   resolved and the hospital was working efficiently and effectively. It
   provides an excellent service to the people of County Roscommon. When I
   served as Minister of State at the Department, the issue was the closure
   of the hospital. I averted its closure at a cost politically to myself,
   but nevertheless it was retained as an acute general hospital with
   surgical, medial and psychiatric services and an accident and emergency
   department. The decision was made by the Government at the time and I
   have that decision in writing. The downgrading of Roscommon County Hospital will have to be a Cabinet decision because I have no confidence in the HSE to make it. The decision may be based on the Hanly report but senior politicians stated decisions would be based on location and getting safely to hospital. It is a vital issue everywhere and in my region in particular. I appeal to the Minister to examine the issue. She was elected Minister but I did
not elect Professor Drumm. The House did not elect him or the HSE
   board. The Minister must intervene in these issues and take political
   decisions in the best interests of the people.

   Deputy Mary Harney: The plan for Roscommon County Hospital was to merge its surgical department with that of Portiuncula Hospital. I have not
seen the latest proposals. When the HSE is briefing, it is required,
like all Departments, to brief Government and Opposition alike. It
seems that the county council and, perhaps, the regional forum were
briefed in this instance. Neither the HSE nor the various Departments
can be selective when offering briefings. They have to make suchservices available to Government and Opposition alike. I am more than happy to ask the HSE to brief those who are interested on the Roscommon issue.

Wednesday, 23 April 2008
Senator Terry Leyden clarifies cleaning budget for Roscommon County Hospital

Following from inaccurate figures circulated by Deputy Denis Naughten, Senator Terry Leyden has clarified that the correct cleaning budget for Roscommon General Hospital (including contract cleaning services) is as follows:
   2005:                €963,559    (inc. catering)
   2007:                €800,280    (exc. catering)
   2008 (projected): €800,000    (exc. catering)

Senator Leyden has called on Deputy Naughten to correct the figures circulated to local media.

“The circulation of incorrect figures like this undermines public
confidence in hygiene and cleaning standards in what is an excellent
hospital. I call on Deputy Naughten to correct these figures before
serious damage is done to the reputation of Roscommon County Hospital

Feb 2008

Senator Terry Leyden campaigns for Roscommon County Hospital in the face of lack of HSE accountability

Senator Terry Leyden today called for the Minister for Health to urgently address concerns in relation to Roscommon County Hospital. Speaking in Seanad Eireann the Senator also expressed grave concerns over the lack of accountability of the HSE, noting that he never came across any of the officials of the HSE on a ballot paper. The full transcript of the Senator’s speech follows.

Senator Terry Leyden: I ask the Leader to arrange an early debate on the health services with the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney. I am particularly concerned about the report regarding the acute surgical services in Roscommon County Hospital and Portiuncula Hospital that has been submitted to the HSE. However, the HSE will not give elected Members a copy of the report and will not consult with us in this regard. It has no democratic mandate to agree to downgrade the services at Roscommon County Hospital and deprive the people of that area of acute surgery, which has far-reaching consequences for the future viability of the hospital. However, the elected representatives, including former Ministers and Deputies, are not being consulted. The Department of Health and Children appears to have washed its hands of responsibility for the HSE. To bring back accountability to this House the Minister should give account of all policy decisions regarding vital services for the people of our area and the country. We are being left redundant in this regard. We are being snubbed by the HSE in many issues. It is about time that we, as the second House of the Oireachtas, brought the Minister into the House to question her, like the arrangement you have, a Chathaoirligh, through you and the Leader of the House. We should put questions to her and get answers to our issues. We represent the people. I never came across the HSE or any of its officials on a ballot paper. It has no mandate from the people; we have, but we are not getting the returns. We were set up.

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