Deputy Pat the Cope Gallagher has slammed the Health Minister Simon Harris for failing to appoint a Review Team to Letterkenny University Hospital.
The proposal was originally made by the Fianna Fail TD in the course of a Topical Issue debate in Dáil Eireann earlier this month.
The West Donegal Deputy subsequently corresponded with the Minister on separate occasions regarding the need for the Department to appoint a full Review Team to conduct a root and branch review of all services, current staffing levels, present bed capacity and future bed capacity requirements along with the potential outputs of the Hospital.
The review was proposed to be carried out in partnership with frontline staff and medical teams of the hospital but answerable to the Minister and through him the HSE.
Deputy Gallagher said “I am extremely disappointed that the Minister has failed to grasp the need and urgent necessity for such a Review Team to be appointed to Letterkenny Hospital.
“It is self-evident to everyone how much daily pressure Letterkenny Hospital is under by way of services, staffing numbers and the number of patients frequenting the Hospital.”
He added that staff of the Hospital are working to their utmost abilities and beyond the call of their duties in trying to deliver the services required of them – but the hard cold facts are the Hospital is under staffed, under resourced and seriously lacking in bed capacity.
“The review which I sought would clearly identify Hospital pressure points and put in place a mechanism to counter act and alleviate the underlying problems within Letterkenny Hospital.
“I now firmly believe that the current Health Minister completely fails to understand the crises of services and capacity which exists within Letterkenny University Hospital – in the Minister’s own detailed reply to me he lists the problems with the Emergency Department, outpatients department, Oncology department, the need for an additional Breast Surgeon, Endocrinology and Diabetes services, Neurology and Dermatology services, Urology and Rheumatology services – the Minister in his reply identifies all the problems but proposes no solutions, it is as if he was a spectator rather than the political head of the Department of Health and that simply is not good enough.”
Pat the Cope challenged Minister Harris to “stop hiding behind his Health Bureaucrats and his failed HSE strategies for dealing with the problems within Letterkenny University Hospital and take a solid political decision and appoint a review team to directly tackle the underlying problems within the Hospital – such issues as understaffing, lack of bed capacity and lack of resources.”
And he addd “Enough time has been wasted in pondering and procrastinating, action is required and needs to be taken without further delay. Letterkenny University Hospital needs the Minister’s full attention and the complete support of the HSE all other initiatives thus far have failed as the situation has deteriorated and worsened, I am calling on the Minister to reconsider and appoint a fully empowered Review Team to Letterkenny Hospital in order to deal with this crisis.”
