A Donegal cancer group has claimed that lives are being put deliberately at risk due to funding & staffing shortages at Letterkenny Hospital?
Donegal Action for Cancer Care that it feels the Government is deliberately stripping Letterkenny Hospital of the necessary funding, staffing and resources so it cannot deliver its key health services?
Spokeswoman Betty Holmes said “If the hospital is not provided with what it needs to deliver services to treat sick people are patient’s lives being put at risk? Who cares? DACC do. We in Donegal Action for Cancer Care believe so.
Letterkenny Hospital without staff, access to theatres, crazy waiting lists, no support for staff who are prepared to do extra work to help address some of the problems and help get patients treated. We keep writing to letters/ emails but get no replies any more. Communication systems that had existed over many years no longer exist! DACC never stop working, we are voluntary, unpaid but very committed and passionate about the work we do.
There are so many serious issues among which are:
• The National Cancer Control Programme has blocked the recruitment /appointment of the 2nd Breast Surgeon announced publicly in Jan 2016. Why has this been blocked? Has the Cancer Control Programme the authority to do so? Who gives them this power?
• There are well over 600+ Breast cancer patients waiting to be seen. The next thing we will hear is that the Breast Unit at LUH cannot take any more patients!! Down the road to Galway again!! Not good enough! Saolta University Hospital Group has questions that really need to be answered. If not the Saolta University Hospital Group then who? Who gives Saolta their power? Who is accountable? We know from past experience over the years that there is no commitment to keeping the Breast Unit at LUH going. Focus on Galway!
• Why are there approx. 13 Colorectal Cancer patients at Letterkenny Hospital who are waiting months to be seen & have not yet? Why?
• Theatre lists at LUH are now down to one day per month for most Consultants maybe less in March!! Will your surgery be cancelled maybe it has already? Again not acceptable!
• Consultants at LUH agreed to work Saturdays if they were given the resources to so…no help or support given!!! Why? All specialities were to be seen/treated at weekends by these consultants? Terrible with the huge waiting lists!
• What finance, staff & resources have been put into support services at LUH in the last year? Definitely not what is needed. Letterkenny Hospital has always received less funding for the number of patients it has treated over many years.
• How many staff at LUH are due to retire in coming months or this year? Have the posts that
will be vacant been advertised? Why can’t key staff be recruited for LUH? Why hasn’t this difficulty that we are always told of been addressed?
Ms Holmes added “We strongly believe that Letterkenny Hospital is a great hospital with excellent staff that are totally committed to their patients. We believe that the problems are not with the staff.
“It is as we have said many times before it is about stripping Letterkenny Hospital and it will be the community hospital of the future!
“We do keep our Donegal Elected Representatives informed.
“As we have said many times before there are Political, Medical & Professional Politics and we are not sure where Donegal Patients are on any of these agenda’s. DACC will keep going.”
