Go raibh míle maith agat. I welcome the opportunity to raise the issue of the lack of a dedicated neurological service at the Regional Hospital Mullingar. It is not that we have an under-resourced service or a service that needs expansion; we simply do not have any dedicated neurology service at all. Instead, there is a limited outreach arrangement with another hospital in another county. For perspective, it will take one of my constituents from Moyne 90 minutes, each way, to travel to Tullamore. It is 105 km.
The national model of care for neurology services, published in 2016, clearly states that all model 3 hospitals should have a dedicated neurology service. A decade later, the people of Longford-Westmeath are still waiting for their service. The consultant neurologist in Tullamore Hospital is not on a full-time basis. The service delivers three 90-minute telephone clinics per week and one in-person clinic every second Thursday. For a catchment population of over 200,000 people across Longford, Westmeath, Offaly and surrounding counties, are we really expected to believe that this constitutes an acceptable neurology service? Does the Minister of State believe that this is safe? Does he believe it is sustainable? Does he believe it is a clinically appropriate level of care given the demand?
Neurological conditions are now the leading cause of disabilities worldwide. In Ireland, one in six people is now living with a neurological condition. People are living with Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, acquired brain injury, motor neurone disease and numerous other conditions that require specialist assessment, diagnosis, treatment and long-term management. The consequences of failing to provide local services are felt every day by my constituents and their families in Longford-Westmeath. People are being forced to travel to Dublin for appointments that should be available closer to home. They are being forced to travel to Tullamore for appointments that should be available closer to home. We know there are thousands of outpatient appointments in St. James's Hospital every year for people in my area, based solely on the addresses they provide to that hospital.
For many patients, particularly those with progressive neurological conditions, these journeys are not a minor inconvenience. They need time off work, suffer a loss of income, incur transport and parking costs, must arrange carers and family support and endure lengthy travel times, while dealing with what can be debilitating symptoms. There have been reports and press releases about healthcare being delivered closer to home. Neurological patients have every right to ask where that care is for them in Longford-Westmeath.
The Neurological Alliance of Ireland, NAI, has highlighted significant regional inequalities in access to neurological care. A recent report found that people living in regional and rural areas face longer waits, greater travel burdens and poorer access to specialist services than those living in major urban centres. One woman I met, a patient, summed up the problem perfectly when she said that Ireland is policy rich but implementation poor. That phrase stuck with me because, in this instance, we have policies, reports and models of care but what we do not have is delivery. The national model of care clearly states that every model 3 hospital should have a dedicated neurology service. The programme for Government commits to improving neurological care. Yet in the midlands, people are being left behind.
Added to that concern is the fact that Ireland still does not have a national brain health strategy. This is a time when neurological conditions are increasing, our population is ageing and demand is rising. The absence of that coherent national strategy is becoming increasingly difficult for the Government to justify. It is not simply about staffing numbers and waiting lists. This should and must be about equity. A person's access to neurological care should not depend on their address and their ability to travel to Dublin. People across Longford and Westmeath deserve the same access to specialist neurological services as people living elsewhere in the State.
I ask the Minister of State to first acknowledge the reality that there is no dedicated neurological service in the Regional Hospital Mullingar and to commit to delivering one because ten years after the report, my constituents deserve it.
