Donegal Senator Pádraig Mac Lochlainn warns that Letterkenny University Hospital desperately needs to reopen the short stay ward before the winter beds crisis worsens.
The Sinn Féin Senator has said he will again raise the need for the Minister for Health and the HSE to urgently allocate €1.8 million to LUH to enable them to re-open the 19 bed Short Stay ward in the Seanad tomorrow.
Senator Mac Lochlainn said: “Earlier this year, the management of Letterkenny University Hospital submitted a proposal to the Saolta Hospital Group under the Critical Unmet Need and Winter Surge Initiative that the Short Stay ward be re-opened with the relevant support staff. They sought €1.84 million euro from the HSE management and hoped for confirmation of funding in October.
“We are now in mid December and the Government have refused to give our major county hospital the support they so desperately need. I have confirmed today that the Short Stay ward will be empty again next week with medical rehab moving back to the campus across the road. This means that a 19 bed unit lies empty with a beds crisis ongoing at the hospital and one likely to grow worse as the winter continues”.
“I have listened to Fianna Fáil public representatives raising this issue too and it is time that they acknowledged and admitted that this “confidence and supply” deal they have with Fine Gael is proving to be a poor deal for Donegal.
“For Sinn Fein’s part, we will continue to raise the funding neglect endured by Letterkenny University Hospital and fight for fairness for our hospital and for our county”
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