Cutback reports of "great concern" - F.G. spokesman for health
The government can pay all the "lip service it likes" to Letterkenny being a priority for capital funding but it wouldn't change the fact that they were now proposing to cut front line services at the General Hospital, Fine Gael spokesman for Health, Dr. James Reilly argued yesterday.
Describing reports of cutbacks at the hospital as being of “great concern”, he said the threatened cuts to staff, wards and patient transport came just a day after Letterkenny was listed among the priorities in the government’s review of capital spending.
“It is clear that the list of priority projects in the capital spending review, which contains no details of allocations or timelines for individual projects, is not worth the paper it’s printed on. While the government is claiming that the construction of a ward block and A&E facilities at Letterkenny are among its priorities, reports are emerging of swingeing cutbacks at the hospital,” said the party’s deputy leader.
The fears included the loss of 125 temporary posts including nursing and care assistants; the loss off 57 staff nurses, with anyone with less than four years service to be made redundant; the loss of 12 Care Assistants, with the closure of a 37 bed Orthopaedic ward and a 19 bed Medical Rehab Unit, which will be either severely curtailed or closed completely.
The cutbacks are also reported to include transport for patients and radiography services in Community Hospitals in Ballyshannon, Donegal Town, Killybegs and Dungloe to be downgraded for the rest of the summer.
“The government can pay all the lip service it likes to Letterkenny being a priority for capital funding without making any firm commitments, but it won’t change the fact they’re cutting front line services now. Fine Gael’s Deputies in Donegal, Joe McHugh and Dinny McGinley, are extremely concerned about the cutbacks hanging over the hospital.
“The government is once again targeting patients to plug the hole in the budgetary crisis they created,” insisted the F.G. spokesman.
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Thursday 17 May 2012
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