Calls for ER stories as campaign runs for local unit continues
Cllr Felim McGurn has called for locals to share their stories of visisting over crowded urgent care units
North-west residents are being asked to share their experiences of not having emergency services in local areas.
The campaign, which is ongoing to encourage people in the north-west to share their stories of dealing with overcrowding at Sligo General Hospital’s AandE, is aimed at building a case for localised emergency departments to be put in small towns.
Heading into the May bank holiday weekend, Sligo General Hospital warned the public that its emergency care unit was full, with no beds available, amid a surge in patients presenting who needed to be admitted.
The hospital advised the public that patients who attend the Emergency department for routine and non-urgent treatment would experience very long waiting times heading into the bank holiday weekend.
“I'm asking people now to have to do this by data, to share their experiences, right, from the catchment area of North Leeds, from South Donegal, Cavan,” Said Leitrim Councillor Felim McGurn, who launched the campaign on his Facebook last month.
The Manorhamilton-based councillor has made the case that Our Lady’s Hospital in the town is underused and could support a small urgent care unit, which would take pressure off Sligo General and serve the local community.
“You have a new hospital in Ballyshannon, you have a new one that's coming on in Carrick, they've got to start looking at taking the pressure off the A&E in Sligo.”
“When you're trying to come up with solutions, and the HSE isn’t listening, that's the scary part of this.“
“We've had an increase in population, people coming in from all over the world in different countries, and that's putting extra pressure.
”This is a whole problem that's on the ground that we've never faced before. So, when you're trying to come up with solutions, when you're backing up with data, you're backing it up with personal stories, surely they're going to have to start looking at it.”