"The Minister for Health woefully out of touch with realities in Cavan and Monaghan hospitals."
That's according to Sinn Fein TD Cathy Bennett TD who expressed concern that the Minister for Health is "ill informed" of conditions on the ground in hospitals across Cavan and Monaghan.
Having challenged the Minister in relation to accident and emergency services in the region, Bennett described the Minister's reference to "a few little blips" as "flippant and insensitive."
According to Deputy Bennett, people are waiting for over a year for MRI or CT scans, waiting hours for an ambulance, or being referred from Monaghan Minor Injuries Unit to Cavan A&E only to face a more than 8-hour wait.
Speaking to Northern Sound, Deputy Bennett says we need a Health Minister that is able to recognise that a problem exists in order for it to be solved.
Deputy Bennett continued; "In 2009, then Sinn Féin TD for Cavan-Monaghan Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin described Fianna Fáil's closure of the accident and emergency department at Monaghan Hospital as a "mortal" blow for the people of Monaghan. He warned that lives will undoubtedly be put at risk as they then had to travel for up to an hour to Cavan hospital.
"The average wait time at Cavan hospital's accident and emergency department this year is more than eight hours, nearly double the 4.4-hour wait time in 2015.
"The situation is worsening every single year. With the best will and staff in the world, the minor injuries unit can only do so much. The people of Monaghan want to see the services that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael cut, restored."
