Cathaoirleach of the Stranorlar Municipal District, Cllr Patrick McGowan has says he will be campaigning on the issue of St Josephs hospital during the forthcoming Council Elections, now only eight weeks away.
As the person responsible for initiating this the campaign in 2016 when St Josephs was threatened with closure/replacement, I worked tirelessly with the committee and have attended every meeting over the last three years.
“I will be putting the retention of long & short term beds in St Josephs as my top priority for the next couple of years.”
Councillor McGowan was one of more than a thousand people who gathered at the weekend to protest about the future of the facility.
He added “Democracy in this country is being eroded by the secrecy within the HSE and the Department of Health and the lies being repeatedly fed to us by Ministers.
“Despite repeated promises from Government we have no HIQA report nor have we seen any proposal or plans to upgrade St Josephs or indeed the promised funding.
“I proposed from the outset that we need a small extension built to the existing St Josephs hospital and the existing hospital renovated and future-proofed to HIQA standards.”
He added that Lifford Hospital also deserves the public’s support as all this uncertainty is bad for staff, patients and public alike.
And he warned “I intend to be a thorn in the side of those who think that we will lie down quietly while they diminish our essential services.”
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