Sinn Féin criticise minister's no show for Dáil Debate

Sinn Féin deputies have described the minister for health’s failure to show up for a Dáil debate on Letterkenny University Hospital (LUH), for the second week running, as a show of ‘arrogance’ towards the people of Donegal.  

Deputies Pádraig Mac Lochlainn and Pearse Doherty also criticised the Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly for not visiting Donegal for a meeting with GPs and consultants. 

Eleven consultants and 78 GPs have written to the minister and other health officials outlining the difficulties experienced at the hospital and the Emergency Department (ED), in recent weeks.

Deputy Pearse Doherty said: “We have said time and time again, that this hospital is being kept together by elastic bands and the good will of the staff. But, bit by bit, they are snapping. And they are snapping to the point where the GPs across the county, 78 of them in total, had to come together to say to the Minister very clearly that there are serious issues 

“Eleven of the consultants have stood out, have put their names to a letter and said that there could be a service collapse.”

Deputy Pádraig MacLochlainn said he felt it was a mark of disrespect that the minister did not meet to discuss the issue, he said: “I just think it’s the utmost disrespect shown to the people of Donegal that here we are, for the second Tuesday in a row, and we do not have the Minister for Health here. We have had no indication if he will be in Letterkenny anytime soon to visit LUH so we are going to bring our Sinn Féin Health spokesperson David Cullinane to Letterkenny on Thursday.” 

The Sinn Féin spokesperson on health David Cullinane will visit Letterkenny on Thursday to meet with GPs and Consultants.

Meanwhile, the Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, has confirmed that the HSE’s Performance Management and Improvement Unit is to travel to LUH this week to support the hospital team with ongoing improvements, and address challenges in the hospital and Emergency Department.

Minister Donnelly said:“I want to ensure that Letterkenny University Hospital is serving the needs of patients and their families in Donegal. The specialist team will work closely with hospital management to focus on measures to improve the patient experience at LUH. This review will address issues such as patient flow, triage, surge capacity, average length of stay and additional discharge opportunities.”

There has been a significant increase in attendances at LUH this year. Between January and September, over 40,000 presentations were made at the ED which marks a 13% increase over the same period last year, and 25% above the same period in 2019. Attendance numbers at LUH are 38% higher than the national average for a Model 3 hospital.

The minister said the Government has allocated significant

resources in order to meet the needs of patients using the hospital.

The hospital budget has increased 24% since 2019 -the budget increased from €143m in 2019 to €178m this year, an increase of €35m. 

He added that staffing at LUH has increased by over 20% since 2020 and that an increase in additional 49 acute beds delivered in the hospital since January 2020.

He also outlined the expansion of gynaecology services, a new acute stroke unit, a new maternity theatre, and an additional endoscopy theatre.

The minister said that in addition, community services have been expanded. The minister will liaise with the HSE Specialist Team to ensure that everything is being done to ensure urgent and emergency care is delivered to those in need of it in a timely fashion. 

He also confirmed his intention to visit the hospital in the coming period.