Danny Healy-Rae Presses Minister on Defence Forces' Hospital Role

Minister, is there any availability of qualified members of the Defence Forces to help medical teams in hospitals or to operate additional ambulances or to help with the care of the elderly in their homes in light of the extra demands that are placed on staff due to COVID and other illnesses? The Defence Forces are not the primary response agency for non-security related emergencies, as defined in the framework for Major Emergency Management. assistance to the appropriate lead department in the event of a natural disaster or emergency situation in its aid to civil authority role. In this regard, the full spectrum of Defence Force personnel and equipment, commensurate with operational requirements, is made available for deployments within current means and capabilities as the need arises. At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, a joint task force was established to coordinate the Defence Force contribution to the whole of government COVID-19 response. It has the authority to draw together in a joint manner the contribution of all of the elements of the Defence Forces, Army, Air Corps, Naval Service and Reserve. This was provided for in the Defence Force regulation, signed by and under my authority as Minister for Defence. The priority for the Defence Force Task Force from the beginning has been to support the HSE, while retaining at all times a contingency capacity to provide aid to civil power support. Since March 2020, Defence Force personnel have provided significant supports in response to the COVID-19 crisis, with in excess of 112,000 personnel days assistance being deployed and over 22,700 instances of Defence Force vehicles being utilised in the deployment of an extensive range of supports from the Defence Forces. The broad range of supports that the Defence Forces have provided to the HSE, as coordinated by the Joint Task Force during the COVID-19 pandemic, include the operation of the COVID-19 testing centre at Liviva Stadium, contact tracing supports and a range of non-clinical and administrative supports in a number of residential care facilities. Defence Force personnel have also provided assistance to the National Ambulance Service through ambulance and crew supports, along with tele-triage supports. The Defence Forces will continue to provide surge support for our health services through bolstering their capacity and providing them with the additional resilience needed to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. So the short answer to your question is yes, Deputy, but that is already happening. The Defence Forces have helped out with the HSE in multiple areas, giving thousands of person hours to support in a wide range of health care activities. Thank you, Minister. Deputy Mayor May. Thank you, Minister. I suppose it is all what one constitutes an emergency, but when the consultant and body of University Hospital Kerry have serious concerns and are worried for the safety of the patients in the hospital. They say they have lost confidence in the ability of the Health Service Executive locally, regionally and nationally to provide safe, timely and effective care of our patients. Our hospital is in crisis. Since the second week in September, with elective surgery cancelled, high numbers of patients and trolleys in the emergency department, staff shortages and staff burned out. We have no surgical day award. The acute medical assessment unit is closed more often than it is open. We do not believe that the management, at either group level or national level, recognise the acknowledgement and the seriousness of the current crisis. We are left without ambulances in our county at times for days, without any ambulance cover, because an ambulance is directed to Cork and then finishes up going to Waterford and does a couple of rooms there and then on to Clonmel and finishes up then. What happens then is our county does not have adequate cover. So, Minister, I am appealing to you. I do not know if you have intervened in Chile already, but if you have, you need to provide more assistance, as your medical service is not up to scratch. Currently, the Defence Forces are providing support to the HSC as coordinated by the joint task force during the COVID-19 crisis in three areas. three areas. On testing, 26 Defence Force personnel are deployed on a daily basis to test centres throughout the country. On tracing, 20 lines serviced by 40 personnel, with 20 in both Kilkenny and Donegal. Tentage, 42 Defence Force tents are deployed to both testing and vaccination centres throughout the country. This will increase from the 19th of November and 22nd of November respectively to the following. On tenting, 40 Defence Force personnel deployed on a daily basis to testing centres throughout the country. This requires a commitment of about 80 personnel. And on tracing, 30 lines in Dublin, Kilkenny and Donegal, this requires a commitment of about 65 personnel. So what we are trying to do is provide resources to the HSE so that they can focus their resources on hospitals, like in Kerry for example, where they might be under pressure. But the idea that we could effectively staff our hospitals with Defence Force personnel, I do not think that is realistic. We have had a number of occasions when Defence Force personnel have been asked to help out with residential care facilities for example, in terms of temporary staffing pressures, and the Defence Force, as ever, has responded professionally to that kind of work. And of course, in terms of moving patients around, the Defence Forces have also been helpful to support the ambulance service as well, when asked. But let us not forget, the Defence Forces are there to offer assistance when the HSE are under significant pressure. They are not there to run a health service. Thank you again, Minister. But you see, we have a crisis in Kerry, and I hear what you are saying about the testing. But people die from other causes as well as the coronavirus, and can die. And elderly people are vulnerable. And when I requested home help for a 91-year-old woman, they told me that she may not get it for six months. And they can't get home help at weekends, or bank holidays. And I am coming to you, Minister, in desperation, because the thing has gone out of hand completely. And I have raised all these issues with the HSE, and here with the teachers, Michal Martin, already. But we still don't seem to be getting anywhere. And yes, we have the utmost respect for the Defence Forces, and they are highly respected all throughout the community. But people are losing their lives in Kerry because of the inaction of the HSE. And I am calling on you to deploy whatever manpower you can, or women, to help out in this exceptional time. Thank you, Deputy. Minister, to conclude, please. Look, Deputy, I understand that hospital services in Kerry are under pressure. They are in other parts of the country too. We are living through a pandemic that is extraordinarily demanding on the health service. That is why we are spending 22 or 23 billion euros in healthcare, or are planning to spend next year, in terms of increasing staffing numbers and increased capital investment in terms of resources. But I mean, of course the Defence Forces are there in emergency situations to help the HSE when they can. But they are not going to solve the challenges in every hospital. And I think it is important to say that. I mean, for example, there are currently 24 medical officers or doctors in the Defence Forces out of the establishment of 26. And of these, only 14 would in theory be able to provide the kind of support that you seem to be suggesting in hospitals. So, you know, the Defence Forces have to, of course, look after their own personnel needs as well. They are there to supplement and support the HSE when necessary. But ultimately, the core challenge here is for the HSE and our hospital service to respond to the extraordinary demand that is there. Thank you, Minister. Thank you.