Independent TD, Thomas Pringle, said the lack of response from the HSE on plans to appoint a new GP for Ardara is ‘unacceptable and unfair’ to the community.
Dr Mireille Sweeney announced at the end of May that she had handed in her resignation to the HSE. Her last day at Ardara Health Centre will be on August 22nd.
“Yet the Ardara community, Dr Sweeney, and her staff and patients have yet to hear from the HSE on how and when her role will be filled,” Deputy Pringle said.
“The HSE told me about two weeks ago that a response to my questions regarding plans for Dr Sweeney’s successor was on its way. I have still heard nothing from them. This is very bad practice from the HSE, to leave the community without answers for so long.”
Deputy Pringle is now calling on the HSE to be ‘open’ about the status of the search for Dr Sweeney’s successor and plans for continuation of the service.
“Continuing to leave people hanging is unfair and unprofessional,” he concluded.
Senator Eileen Flynn, who is based in Ardara, said Dr Sweeney has given 29 years of invaluable service to the community.
“I contacted Minister Stephen Donnelly last week to see if he could get answers on plans for her successor, but I haven’t yet received a response,” she said.
“There is worry in the community in the absence of information. People who work in the surgery are unsure if they are going to have a job in little more than a week’s time. It’s not right to treat people this way. The HSE must be respectful of Dr Sweeney, of the staff at the health centre and of the people in the community who have gone to Dr Sweeney for so many years.”
Tags: