Senator Pádraig Mac Lochlainn said there are now serious questions for HSE management and the Government over the new building works planned for Buncrana Nursing Unit and Carndonagh Community Hospital.
Senator Mac Lochlainn will raise these questions at a meeting with senior HSE officials this Friday 15th March.
Senator Mac Lochlainn said “In February 2016, just before the last general election it was confirmed that there was to be almost €3 million euro of new building works at Buncrana Nursing Unit and €2.6 million of works at Carndonagh Community Hospital in order for both facilities to comply with HIQA health and safety requirements.
“Incredibly and despite the scale of this investment, not one additional bed was being created. Beds have been lost and nurses not replaced at Buncrana Nursing Unit and Carndonagh Community Hospital over the last decade, due to Government cutbacks over the period of austerity”.
The Sinn Fein Senator said he has repeatedly raised these issues with various Ministers for Health and HSE management.
He added “Firstly the works at Buncrana Nursing Unit have been delayed by at least a year, due to planning issues. In my opinion, this was avoidable.
“However, those delays provide HSE management and the Government with an opportunity to review this project to examine the scope for a larger project with the badly needed additional beds and staff. The team at Buncrana Nursing Unit are struggling to cope for months now with significant loss of staff and beds. They need to be reassured that this will change.
“Secondly, I am advised that the works at Carndonagh Community Hospital have been brought forward because of the delays at Buncrana Nursing Unit and while it is important that those works now proceed, I will again be calling on HSE management and the Government to outline how they intend to continue on from these current works with additional beds and staff”.
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