I have been contacted by residents of Waterville who use the Connolly Hospital grounds and the Mill Road to access Blanchardstown Village.

I have also been contacted by staff of the Hospital who use public transport to get to and from work and who regularly walked from Blanchardstown Village to the Hospital and back to the Village after their day or nights work.

Since the new entrance has opened there is no through access for vehicles and the roads have become very quiet.

Pedestrians are feeling quite unsafe and isolated, particularly with the dark evenings and mornings. The Mill Road is very poorly lit which adds to the isolation for pedestrians.

People using the bus say that the stops on the N3 are too dangerous for them to cross this road to get in the new entrance. I have contacted Dublin Bus on this matter but perhaps it might be useful if the Transportation Department were to have further discussions with Dublin Bus about the safe placing of bus stops for the use of visitors and staff of the Hospital.

The women who contacted me are feeling quite nervous for their safety. With poorly lit roads used infrequently by traffic the Hospital gounds and Mill Road could become a very unsafe area.

I have written to Fingal County Council asking them to look at this issue from a safety point of view and to see how locals, staff and Hospital visitors can be assured that they are not in danger while walking along this roadway.

Speaking on a special adjournment debate in the Dáil today, Deputy Joan Burton said “I have asked for this adjournment debate to clarify the position of the Minister for Health and her Government in relation to their commitment to the ongoing development of Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown.

“It is difficult to understand what the HSE and Professor Brendan Drumm’s attitude is to Connolly Hospital. Is it to be developed on a par with the other Dublin teaching hospitals such as Beaumont and the Mater, or is it to be a Cinderella sister to the big Dublin teaching hospitals?

“Connolly Hospital, situated as it is on both the M50 and the M3, serves a large part of Meath as well as Dublin 15, Cabra, the Navan Road and Finglas. Because of the restriction of activities in Navan hospital, in particular, Connolly Hospital has seen a surge in demand for its services.

“Although the HSE has promised a new hospital for the North-East, it doesn’t look likely that this will be developed and opened any time soon given the mess in the public finances. The burden on Connolly Hospital is therefore likely to grow. Sufficient resources must be provided both to meet this increased demand and to develop the hospital as a regional centre of medical excellence. This is what the Government has previously promised.

“I want the Minister to make a clear and unequivocal commitment that Connolly Hospital will get the resources it needs particularly in respect of A&E and modern imaging equipment. It is hard to believe that a modern hospital serving such a large population has to transport people to the new private Hermitage hospital, the Mater and Beaumont for MRI at CAT scans. These services are vitally important to ensure doctors can make an accurate diagnosis.

“When I previously raised this matter in the Dáil, I was told that a proposed co-located private hospital would be built in the grounds of Connolly Hospital. We were led to believe that any private hospital operator would insist on having exclusive rights to the provision of modern imaging services such as CAT and MRI scans. We were told that Connolly Hospital must wait.

“Given the current cost of bank borrowing, it seems likely to me that, from a financial point of view, this particular co-location proposal is dead in the water. Must Connolly Hospital wait indefinitely for its MRI scanner?

“The PDs are dead as a political party. Yet, their policy of ‘co-locating’ private hospitals lives on like a virus infecting the entire Irish health system. Taxpayers in Dublin 15 and surrounding communities are getting a raw deal as a result. Several million euro are wasted every year on transporting patients, together with their escorts, to have scans done in other hospitals in the Dublin area.

“Any cost-benefit analysis of doing MRI and CAT scans in the hospital would show that it makes economic sense to invest in the hospital as opposed to the current inefficient practice of outsourcing these services.

“The current Minister for Finance, Brian Lenihan TD, promised that Connolly Hospital would be developed as a major regional hospital when he opened the new hospital wing in 2005. An on-the-record declaration of faith in the hospital and a commitment to adequate resourcing is now long over-due.

“Unless there is a clear commitment to Connolly Hospital and its services, including A&E and the upgrading of its equipment, it is patients who will inevitably suffer.”

Reply by Barry Andrews TD on behalf of Health Minister, Mary Harney:

I will be taking this Adjournment matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney. I reiterate the Minister’s continuing commitment to developing Connolly Memorial Hospital in a way that best meets the needs of patients. This commitment is underlined by the investment that we have made in the hospital in recent years. Phase one of the redevelopment of the hospital, which was completed at a cost of €107 million, provided accommodation for a modern accident and emergency department, including a minor injuries unit. This project also included the provision of theatres, intensive and critical care units, day surgery facilities, an acute psychiatric unit, a mental health day hospital and ward accommodation of approximately 180 replacement beds. The new emergency department has 23 cubicles, three chest pain assessment bays and three high observation areas. In 2007, the hospital received 32,000 emergency presentations resulting in the admission of 8,000 patients. In 2008, the hospital saw 28,000 emergency presentations and admitted 6,500 patients by October.

The emergency department has approximately 100 staff including 53 nursing and 17 medical staff. Refurbishment of the surgical block was completed early in 2008 at a cost of €14.36 million and included a department of medicine for older people incorporating 56 replacement beds and day hospital and a medical day unit with endoscopy facilities and respiratory medicine department.

A range of diagnostic services are provided at the hospital and appointments are allocated on a priority basis based on clinical need. Urgent X-ray requests are processed either on the same day or within 24 hours, while urgent chest X-rays are seen on the same day. All ultrasound and barium study referrals are assessed by a consultant radiologist and allocated on a priority basis. With regard to urgent requests, the general practitioner contacts the consultant radiologist directly and the request is processed as soon as possible. The hospital received approval and funding in the order of €2.5 million for a replacement CT scanner. It is expected this will be operational in 2009.

All patients’ clinical requirements for MRI are met through Beaumont hospital or the purchase of private capacity. There is no waiting list for this service. At present, the activity level generated by Connolly hospital for this service is below the required norms for an MRI. Diagnostic activity levels at the hospital are increasing, however, and the HSE will continue to monitor the situation with a view to developing increased capacity if required.

I thank Deputy Burton for raising this matter. I am happy to confirm that Connolly hospital continues to be an integral part of acute hospital services, as evidenced by the significant investment made in recent years in developing services.

All patients’ clinical requirements for MRI are met through Beaumont hospital or the purchase of private capacity. There is no waiting list for this service. At present, the activity level generated by Connolly hospital for this service is below the required norms for an MRI. Diagnostic activity levels at the hospital are increasing, however, and the HSE will continue to monitor the situation with a view to developing increased capacity if required.

I thank Deputy Burton for raising this matter. I am happy to confirm that Connolly hospital continues to be an integral part of acute hospital services, as evidenced by the significant investment made in recent years in developing services.