Hospital Services
Dail Éireann — 2026-07-01
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Martin Daly (FF), Roscommon-Galway

I thank the Minister for her comprehensive answer, which I appreciate. The important thing is the innovation that has happened at this particular unit in terms of the "see and treat" model, where patients are referred for photo triage before they attend. The service is led by a consultant but delivered by specialist advanced nurse practitioners, ANPs, in dermatology, who are trained in the screening and diagnosis of skin cancers and other skin lesions. These may not turn out to be skin cancers but it is important that this work is done. We need to support the advanced nurse practitioner model in this unit and develop it further. It needs more physical capacity. I have spoken to the HSE. I spoke to Mr. McCallion last week after the health committee meeting, and he said the HSE is going to look into that. It is worth supporting.
The whole issue about Roscommon is that the public in the west, in particular in Roscommon and east Galway, were promised that with the reconfiguration of Roscommon University Hospital, it would be supported in all its endeavours to provide appropriate services, such as day services. It is important that we keep an eye on the replacement acute psychiatric unit, the car parking services and the outpatients unit, which does not have disabled toilet facilities or a ramp for disabled patients to use. We need to develop the endoscopy service. If the Minister can expand that, we would be delighted and would support her in that.
There are so many good things happening in Roscommon University Hospital but it takes commitment. For example, Roscommon University Hospital was promised a neurological rehab unit in 2015, with an attached budget of €8 million. That was taken off the capital plan twice, and only after an intervention by me and my office has it been placed back on the plan. There is a dearth of neurological rehabilitation places in the west of Ireland. I urge the Minister to support Roscommon University Hospital in every way she can. This is an exemplar for the reconfiguration of that hospital.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-07-01/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:06+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-07-01