HSE ‘appalling and dysfunctional’ - O’Dowd
LOUTH’S government TDs say they will support health minister Simon Harris as he tries to shine a light into the workings of the HSE in the wake of the waiting list scandal.
Fergus O’Dowd said ‘shame’ was a word that came to mind after watching the RTE Living on the List programme last week and he attacked the ‘dysfunctional and appalling’ HSE. Speaking in the Dail, Mr O’Dowd said: ‘It is a shame what is happening in this country. The waiting lists are a shame. It is a shame that a year ago Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital was short 55 nurses and three anaesthetists.
‘ There were six people in the intensive care units and another six lined up outside, waiting to get in there. Only one made it inside that door. I am trying to find out what happened to the rest of those patients.
‘ There is a crisis in intensive care beds in this country. I only know these things because of the Freedom of Information Act 2014. The HSE is not accountable to me as a member of the Oireachtas, to anybody in this House or to the public and is hiding its accountability from the Minister. I welcome the Minister’s commitment that heads will roll.
‘It is not accountable to the public and it is hiding its accountability from the Minister. Heads must roll in this dysfunctional and appalling organisation, which from top to bottom is full of bureaucracy and lacking in accountability.
‘I am ashamed that I have to stand up and say these things here. I support the government, the budgets and the minister. I believe he is the person to deal with the terminal crisis in the health service.
‘ The head of the HSE must roll and should roll now. Each of the three separate waiting lists is populated by people who are in pain and are suffering because they have been waiting for longer than they should be waiting for.
‘What the hell are we going to do about it? The HSE claims that having multiple lists is standard international practice, but it is not the practice in England or in other countries. We should have one short list that is dealt with.
‘We should not have the longest list in Europe. We should ensure we have the shortest list. I support the Minister in his intention to do that’.
His frustration about the HSE was echoed by his college, Peter Fitzpatrick.
He said: ‘ The health budget has never been higher, yet we have 3,500 less nurses in the system. This needs to be explained by the HSE.
‘ Time and time again in my dealings with the HSE, I have come up against a brick wall when it comes to trying to get someone to be accountable or indeed explain the reasoning to their decision making.
‘I stand fully behind Minister Harris as we attempt to shine a light on the inner workings of the HSE’.