The family of dementia patient Paul Harte have received a positive outcome to their appeal to allow him to be transferred closer to home.
Management at Lifford Community Hospital have today agreed to open a bed for the 53-year-old Lifford man, who has just weeks left to live.
Paul will be transferred to Lifford tomorrow, which will bring some solace to his family after they were forced to highlight their issue on social media.
Paul, who lives with Down Syndrome, has been receiving palliative care in his final stages of dementia at Letterkenny University Hospital for the past three weeks.
His family were devastated when management at Lifford Community Hospital told them that Paul could not be admitted because he is not aged 65 or more and suffers from an intellectual disability.
In response, the Harte family started a social media campaign to ask why their beloved brother and son could not be cared for at Lifford Community Hospital, which has eight empty beds.
Following a meeting of Lifford Community Hospital management and the HSE this afternoon, the Harte’s have received word that permission was granted for Paul to be transferred home for his final days.
In a Facebook update, Paul’s sister Donna said: “People power all the way, thanks for all your comments, we as a family appreciate it very much.”
