Donegal Daily
  • News
  • Sport
  • Courts
  • Jobs
  • Business
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Politics
  • Features
  • Donegal County Council News
Friday 14°CSaturday 15°C

Donegal Daily Donegal Daily

sponsor banner
sponsor banner
  • News
  • Sport
  • Courts
  • Jobs
  • Business
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Politics
  • Features
  • Donegal County Council News
HealthNews

Clarity demanded over plans to reopen LUH Short Stay Ward

written by Stephen Maguire October 24, 2018
FacebookTweetLinkedInPrint

Deputy Pearse Doherty is seeking urgent clarification from Government over its pledge to reopen the 19 bed Short Stay Ward at Letterkenny University Hospital.

The Donegal TD was speaking following having received a response to a Dáil Question on the issue of new hospital beds in which the Minister failed to specifically cite Letterkenny as one of the locations where additional beds will be rolled out next year.

Deputy Doherty said “As many people will be aware the campaign to have the short stay ward at Letterkenny Hospital has been something which Sinn Féin has been to the fore on for many months now.

“In fact, a petition initiated by the party last July garnered over 5,600 signatures from people across the county demanding that the ward be reinstated in order to alleviate the chronic problem of hospital overcrowding.

“And while the pledge made by the government following the budget earlier this month that the short stay ward would be reopened was a fantastic achievement and one which is owing to people power, there are still serious questions over just how genuine the government’s determination is to deliver this pledge.

He added that when he sought clarification from the Government over recent days about its plans to provide additional hospital bed capacity and queried the locations and time frame for the delivery of these new beds, there was no reference made to the Letterkenny Hospital in the Minister’s reply.

“Instead, the Minister simply responded to state that in early 2019 an additional 80 hospital beds will be brought on stream and these included an additional 30-bed ward in Our Lady of Lourdes Drogheda, a 40-bed modular ward block in South Tipperary General Hospital, and four high dependency beds in the Mater and Cork University Hospital respectively.

“The Minister went on to give some vague details about the government allocating an additional €10 million in capital funding next year for further acute beds as part of the Winter Initiative 2019/20.

“It’s now vital – given the severity of hospital overcrowding and lack of capacity at LUH – that the Government immediately provides clarity in respect of these plans to reopen the Short Stay Ward in Letterkenny.

“This is why I intend to now raise this issue once again with the Minister where I will be demanding clarity in relation to the unit and when it’s expected that the short stay facility will be reinstated at the hospital.”

Clarity demanded over plans to reopen LUH Short Stay Ward was last modified: October 23rd, 2018 by Stephen Maguire
FacebookTweetLinkedInPrint

Tags:
donegalletterkennyluhPearse Doherty
Stephen Maguire

Stephen Maguire is the co-founder of Donegal Daily. He has worked as a reporter for almost 30 years starting locally with the Donegal Peoples Press before moving to the Mirror Group. He continues to contribute daily to national media outlets including the Irish Times, RTE, the Irish Independent, Irish Sun, Irish Mirror, Irish Star, the Daily Mail and the Examiner.

LEAVE A COMMENT

You may also like

Much loved local ecologist launches ‘Birds of...

5 hours ago

Donegal planners grant retention permission for hobbit-style...

6 hours ago

Plans for 35 new houses and apartments...

9 hours ago

Benny is still ‘harping on’ as he...

9 hours ago

Charity 5K cancelled following Inishowen road tragedy

10 hours ago

Packie Bonner to open ‘Working Over By’...

10 hours ago

East Donegal family birthdays raise over €3k...

11 hours ago

Motorists warned after oil spill in south...

13 hours ago

HSE group in Donegal honoured for work...

13 hours ago

Over 6,500 Ukrainian refugees now living across...

14 hours ago
Advertisement
Advertisement

Donegal County Council

Facebook
Donegal County Council
Advertisement
Advertisement
Donegal Daily Jobs

Read More

  • News
  • Sport
  • Courts
  • Jobs
  • Sales & Services
  • Obituaries
  • Features
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Council News

Information

  • Contact Us
  • About
  • Advertise WIth Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer
  • Terms & Conditions

Our Sites

Donegal Woman
Donegal Woman
Donegal Daily

© 2025 Donegal Daily. All rights reserved.
Website by owenod


Back To Top.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OkPrivacy policy