Minister's promised extension to Mayo A&E is unlikely to happen, TD says

AFTER submitting a parliamentary question to the Minister for Health Simon Harris regarding the proposed extension to the emergency department of Mayo University Hospital, Mayo Fianna Fáil Deputy Lisa Chambers has said “the plans, or lack thereof, have become apparent.”

The Castlebar-based TD stated: “I submitted a question to the minister asking for details of the extension plans, the areas of the emergency department that will be extended, the expected date for completion of the project and the projected costs. I also asked if there were plans to hire additional staff to cover the additional area.

“The response I got was disappointing and it appears to me that the minister’s visit to the hospital last November was nothing more than for show.

“Not only is there no completed brief for the project but no funding has been allocated for the project in the current capital plan

“The issues with Mayo University Hospital emergency department are not going to resolve themselves, so clearly we need additional capacity and that means additional space and staff.

“This has been made clear to the government and the Minister for Health for some time now but to date we have seen no real action to try and address the worsening problems at our hospital,” she added.