The Green Party has challenged the Minister for Health,
Micheal Martin to explain why he proposes to downgrade the T.B and respiratory
unit at Peamount hospital in West Dublin. The Green Party
are now calling on Minister Martin to retain Peamount Hospital as a
chest hospital and community care centre.
Green Party TD, Paul Gogarty said today “With TB on the increase
in Ireland, it seems unbelievable that Minister Martin is presiding
over a plan to move specialised TB care out of Peamount and back into
general hospitals. It seems extraordinary that this is being considered
at a time when the Minister for Health is trying to sell the idea of
creating ‘Centres of Excellence’ in all other aspects of
hospital treatment.”
“The Green Party have serious concerns about the transition of
these services back into general hospitals. Accident and Emergency departments
are already over-stretched. With the onset of the winter the number
of admissions with respiratory illness will increase and yet is it proposed
to add TB patients into the mix. This also further increases the risk
of cross infection for the wider community.”
“Peamount has given excellent service for many years in the area
of services for TB and respiratory problems. It established a catchment
area from the 1950s onwards encompassing much of west Dublin and Mid-Leinster.
It has built up an unrivalled expertise in the treatment of chronic
respiratory disorders as well as in community care," he stated.
“These services are now in jeopardy following the publication
of a plan to transfer the respiratory services of Peamount to St James’s
hospital. While this will cater for acute cases, it does not include
the treatment of sufferers with chronic respiratory illnesses, who will
now be dispersed nationwide. The proposed redevelopment of Peamount
hospital dismantles a well respected centre of excellence which is needed
more than ever with TB and other respiratory disorders on the rise.”
“If something is working well, why tear it asunder. Peamount
doesn’t need to be fixed, if anything it needs to be enhanced.
While the hospital board's new five year strategy is broadly welcome,
dismantling the chest hospital is a dangerous move which the Minister
for Health will regret in years to come.”
Health spokesperson, John Gormley, TD, said that the decision to move
the specialist TB Unit out of Peamount made no sense from a health or
economic point of view. "In the case of Peamount, it is very much
a case of 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'. Peamount has the best results
in the world in dealing with TB. What then is the justification in following
through on the recommendations of the Board? Why have they ignored the
expert recommendations of Dr. Luke Clancy, whose commitment and knowledge
in this area is unsurpassed?"
"We in the Green Party agree with Dr. Clancy. Peamount should
be retained as a stand-alone centre of excellence working in tandem
with St. James’s. We agree that the measures proposed could increase
the risk of spreading TB which is already on the increase in Ireland
and worldwide," he said.
Mr. Gormley claimed that other countries that moved away from stand-alone
TB centres, because TB had declined, paid an economic price. "According
to Dr. Luke Clancy, similar moves in the US cost the health service
up to US$18 million. Now, given the fact that TB has not been defeated,
it is all the more essential that we pursue the chest hospital option.
Peamount has now accumulated so much expertise over the years, particularly
in the area of multi-drug resistance, that any other option would be
costly and counter-productive. It is still not too late to rethink this
strategy.”
Patricia McKenna MEP said “The public may not be aware but far
from TB being eradicated it is actually on the increase in Europe. With
the rise of multi drug resistant strains of the disease, TB is uglier
and more dangerous than ever."
"22% of all TB cases in Latvia are multi drug resistant, according
to the latest WHO figures. A quarter of cases in Russia and Estonia
are resistant to at least one drug. This is not the time to close a
Hospital like Peamount that has accumulated so much expertise over the
years, particularly in the area of multi-drug resistance. And when we
are opening our borders to people from these countries," said Dublin's
Green MEP.
"Europe is concerned about the human cost of lung disease which
is second only to heart disease in terms of mortality, prevalence and
costs. The death toll from lung disease is predicted to continue rising
between now and 2020. To increase public awareness of diseases like
TB, The European White Book on Lung Disease will be launched in the
European Parliament, Brussels on 25th November by David Byrne, Commissioner
for Health and Consumer protection,” concluded Patricia McKenna.