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Call for Carn Hospital Action
Committee
05.02.12
by Damian Dowds, Inishowen Independent
A COMMITTEE is set to be formed in Carndonagh aimed
at fighting any downgrade or closure of the local
Community Hospital.
More than 400 people recently attended a public
meeting in the town's Colgan Hall to oppose any
downgrade or closure of the local Community
Hospital.
The meeting, organised by the local Alzheimer’s and
Hospice support groups, was told by Fine Gael TD Joe
McHugh that there is “no issue in Carn hospital
closing”. However, the meeting was also told that
the HSE estimates that up to €3.7 million would have
to be spent over the next two and a half years to
bring the hospital up to the standards required by
the Health Information and Quality Agency (HIQA).
Crucially, no commitments were given on maintaining
the number of beds at current levels. Already, the
number of beds in the hospital has fallen from 55 in
2009 to 45 in 2011, while four beds in the Ard
Aoibhinn Alzheimer’s unit have also been closed.
Meeting organisers Mary Gillen (Alzheimers’ support
group), Gertie Monagle (Hospice support group) and
Dr John Madden (local GP) hope to establish a
committee to build on the momentum of Friday’s night
meeting. Anyone interested in joining should give
their contact details to the Inishowen Development
Partnership’s Carndonagh office.
Both Gertie Monagle and Mary Gillen emphasised how
many of the facilities on the Carn hospital campus
were funded, in full or in part, by local community
fund-raising.
“After all that the community has invested, it would
be a massive loss if Carn Hospital were to be
downgraded or closed,” Mrs Monagle said, adding that
the new groups objective would be the reversal of
Government and HSE proposals which suggest up to 900
long-term care beds in institutions across the state
will be closed this year.
Speaking on behalf of the Donegal Branch of the
Alzheimer’s Society, Mary Gillen said that around
450 people in Inishowen suffer from the disease or
some form of dementia, and that the Ard Aoibhinn
unit, which opened in 2007 having been funded by
donations from the local community, has been 'a
God-send' for more than 100 families whose loved
ones were cared for there, and 31 families who
currently get respite care on an ongoing basis.
She said there was no good reason for the closure of
four of the unit’s 16 beds and those need to be
re-opened urgently.
To loud applause, she posed the rhetorical question:
“Will the people of Inishowen sit back and accept
cuts to the most vulnerable in our society? I say
no.” |
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Carndonagh Community Hospital |
Dr John Madden said
that while Carn Hospital was built in the 1950s,
there exists evidence of a treatment facility in
Carndonagh going back to the 1840s during the Great
Famine.
He said that the hospital was under attack on three
counts: from HIQA; the recruitment embargo; and the
Minister’s announcement that up to 900 long-term
care beds were to close across the country.
Acknowledging that the majority of the health budget
is spent on salaries and that most cuts must
therefore be to services, Dr Madden said that
retiring health workers can be replaced, but if an
institution like Carn hospital were lost it would
never come back.
All three TDs from Donegal North East attended the
meeting, as did most local county councillors and
representatives of community groups.
A long discussion touching on several issues
followed the opening speeches, and no one could be
in any doubt as to the depth of opposition to any
diminution in the services provided at Carn
Hospital.
The meeting concluded with the chairman Andrew Ward
asking people interested in joining a Carn Hospital
Action Group committee to phone the IDP with their
contact details.
*How can you get involved
Last Friday night’s meeting was organised by the
local Alzheimer's and Hospice support groups, and
they are calling for the formation of a new ‘Carn
Hospital Action Committee’ to work towards
preserving and improving the status of the Hospital.
The Inishowen Development Partnership has agreed to
facilitate the formation of this new committee,
which the organisers hope will draw people from all
over Inishowen.
If you want to get involved, call the Inishowen
Development Partnership on 07493 73083 with: Your
name, telephone number, postal address and email
address.
Read more:
Views from floor on
Carn Hospital |
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