Hospital Services
Seanad Éireann — 2026-02-26
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Patricia Stephenson (SD), Labour Panel

St. Luke's Hospital is the seventh biggest hospital in the country. There are very few hospitals in the centre of the country, which leads to St. Luke's having a huge catchment area, well beyond counties Carlow and Kilkenny, and the surrounding hospitals are not performing well. Yet in St. Luke's, posts remain unfilled across cardiology, dermatology, respiratory medicine, rheumatology and neurology. These are not peripheral specialties. They are at the core of a service for any modern model 3 hospital.
St. Luke's is facing severe understaffing. The absence of permanent consultants in these areas has very real consequences: longer waiting times, increased reliance on highly expensive locums and agency staff, reduced continuity of care, pressure on existing staff, and, ultimately, an impact on patient outcomes. Consultant-led care is directly linked to improved patient flow, faster diagnosis, safer discharge decisions and reduced admissions. When three emergency medical posts are vacant, for example, that pressure cascades through the entire hospital system.
What really concerns me is the broader structural inequality at St. Luke's. As a model 3 hospital, it serves not only Carlow and Kilkenny but a huge catchment area. When we compare this to other model 3 hospitals nationally, there is a clear perception and operational reality that St. Luke's is not receiving matching funding, workforce allocation or capital investment. Letterkenny University Hospital and St. Luke's are both model 3 hospitals, but Letterkenny has 1,000 more staff. Other model 3 hospitals in Sligo and Tralee have bigger budgets than St. Luke's. In comparison to other model 3 hospitals, simply put, St. Luke's receives less funding and has fewer key consultant positions. There is a sense that St. Luke's is being penalised for performing well over the years.
The staff on the ground are working hard and the management are doing all they can. Indicators show the hospital is under huge strain. There appears to be an implicit assumption that the hospital can continue to manage without the investment it desperately needs. However, the hospital is struggling, particularly with the absence of a second CT scanner, which is urgently needed. A business case has been submitted and it is now at the appraisal stage. The existing scanner at St. Luke's is operating 24-7 under significant critical strain as the hospital is experiencing such high demand. The absence of a second scanner has a knock-on effect across the entire hospital. It delays diagnosis, slows clinical decision-making and prolongs stays in hospital for patients and contributes to discharge delays for patients who are medically fit to leave but still waiting on imaging. This in turn obviously leads to pressure on beds. A second scanner is essential to improve patient flow and reduce wait times. Staff in St. Luke's are crying out for additional support. The pressure on the ground is incredibly real. Without additional resources, they simply cannot meet the growing need.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-02-26/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:42+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-26