Ó Murchú voices concerns over HSE response to queries on Louth sevices

Responses last week from the HSE about health services in County Louth “do not inspire hope or confidence”, said Sinn Féin TD Ruairí Ó Murchú.

The recently-elected TD said he had received responses to questions about the additional bed capacity planned for Crosslanes, as well as podiatrists working in the public health system in Louth.

Deputy Ó Murchú says that in response to a query submitted in October, the HSE said that services for diabetes management have been incorporated into a Chronic Disease Management hub, which should provide a fulltime clinical specialist podiatrist, a senior podiatrist, a staff grade podiatrist and a part-time podiatrist.

But the HSE admitted, he said, in their response that no podiatrists are currently employed in the Chronic Disease Hub in Louth and also said that “all vacancies are being reviewed in line with the new Pay and Numbers cap for the Regional Health Authority”. There is no timeline for when any podiatrist will be employed for Louth.

And in their response to Deputy Ó Murchú’s question about when the new two storey extension for the Drogheda Department of Psychiatry at Crosslanes will be open, the HSE admitted that the contractor is expected to be onsite some time next year, with a two year building timeframe, meaning that it will be 2027 at the earliest before the beds will be available.

In addition, the Louth Meath Mental Health Services continue to have 55 vacancies but these are subject to the ‘Pay and Numbers Strategy’ which, the HSE says, “involved the resetting of the WTE (whole time equivalent) numbers to match pay and budget and service priorities”.

Deputy Ó Murchú went on to say: “We are seeing the effects of the HSE’s disastrous Pay and Numbers Strategy in real life here in County Louth. “There are no podiatrists being recruited for this chronic disease hub, and the 55 vacancies across mental health services remain.”

The Sinn Féin TD continued: “The ongoing recruitment embargo by another name – the Pay and Numbers Strategy – has been a disaster for many frontline health services. Workers, who have been protesting outside Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda on a regular basis, are right to demand a safe workforce plan and a safe working environment.

“Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have overseen an astronomical rise in the cost of agency staffing and outsourcing, which is more costly than the HSE delivering services directly. They have allowed and driven on the privatisation of healthcare by stealth. They have failed to introduce cost-effective reforms in primary care, community care, mental healthcare and chronic disease management.”

Deputy Ó Murchú concluded by adding that: “This stop-start approach to recruitment and the suppression of posts is impacting on patients in County Louth. These problems have to be tackled immediately, no matter who is in government, and I have to worry that we could be facing more of the same because of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael’s past record on these issues.”