POLITICS: Deputy Pat the Cope Gallagher while welcoming the additional resources allocated to the HSE and home help packages, has cautioned that the extra €40 million euro may not be enough to deal with the current crises within hospitals, not alone prepare the Hospitals for the oncoming winter and the usual increase in hospital admissions for the winter period.
The allocation was made by Minister Simon Harris following Pat the Cope’s highlighting of the issues of delayed discharges, lack of access of home help packages, under utilising of Community Hospitals, delayed operations and the crises within the Emergency Departments of our Hospitals.
Deputy Gallagher has stressed that unless the Minister for Health directs the HSE to insure that the extra money is ring fenced for additional services, additional home help packages and extra capacity within Community Hospitals otherwise the extra resources will simply be used to fill existing gaps and deficits within current HSE budgets and no tangible nett gain will be obtained from this allocation.
Pat the Cope told Donegal Daily, “I’ve challenged senior executives and management within the HSE to provide a more joined up and coordinated service within the health sector, whereby the recourses allocated are used to the maximum benefit of all service users.
“This will involve the HSE management speeding up with delayed discharges, coordinating with Community hospitals to better use those hospitals in providing step down facilities from our General Hospitals and by providing home help packages without delay for patients who are being discharged from our hospitals.
“I’ve requested Minister Simon Harris to detail the exact benefit the Department of Health’s allocation of extra resources will have for Letterkenny University Hospital.
“Letterkenny UH urgently needs the Minister to personally address the ongoing hospital budgets shortages, bed capacity issues, surgeries and procedure delays and the crises within the Emergency Department on a weekly basis, while the extra resources deals with the Health problems on a national basis – there is an urgent need and expectation in Donegal that Minister Harris will follow on from his visit to the hospital by providing a specific Letterkenny University Hospital allocation in order to address the problems facing health care within Donegal.
“Failure to deliver the extra resources for Letterkenny University Hospital will mean an extremely difficult winter period for patients and staff alike and now is the time to plan ahead to deliver what is required for the hospital.”
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