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Govt refuse to approve funding for
LUH
01.08.18
FIANNA Fáil TD for
Donegal Charlie McConalogue has branded the
government’s refusal to approve funding for
Letterkenny University Hospital’s short stay ward as
an abject failure.
“It’s quite clear that the re-opening of the short
stay ward would have a positive impact for patients
and staff alike and ease the serious pressure on the
emergency department and wards. As part of our
meeting with LUH management, we were taken on a tour
of the short stay ward - it is ready to go and all
that is needed is a relatively modest funding
package of €1.9m to staff it”, explained Deputy
McConalogue.
“It’s ridiculous to think that as we were being
shown around the empty short stay ward, there were
26 people on trollies around the hospital. As of the
end of June 2018, 2,369 people had spent time on
trolleys in LUH. This is well on course to exceed
the total figure for 2017 – 4,889. Having 19 extra
beds available on a daily basis would significantly
ease the pressure on the hospital." |
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Deputy McConalogue, along with Party
Leader Micheál Martin, Pat the Cope Gallagher and a
delegation of local Councillors, met with senior
management in LUH last week to discuss the funding
situation. |
“LUH is now regularly
one of the most overcrowded in the country – last
week saw 40 people on trollies – a huge number,
especially given the fact that we are in the middle
of summer which would traditionally see reduced
demand on hospital services.
“With figures like these becoming the norm, it is
imperative that the funding package that was applied
for in 2017 is finally approved in advance of winter
2018 because this is the time when the hospital will
inevitably be at breaking point." |
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