Mayo hospital concerns under fresh political scrutiny
A high-powered Sinn Féin delegation has met with management of Mayo University Hospital (MUH) in a bid to avert another winter of crisis at the busy Castlebar facility.
The party's shadow health minister, David Cullinan, was accompanied by Mayo TD Rose Conway-Walsh during face-to-face talks yesterday with manager Catherine Donoghue over what has been described as 'the current state of play' at the centre.
The session was called by Sinn Féin due to its fears MUH is facing a budgetary shortfall to adequately meet its service commitments over the coming months.
Deputy Cullinan asked specific questions in regard to the number of staff vacancies, the circumstances in which medical operations are likely to be cancelled and what progress is being made to address long waiting lists.
He is convinced that the government's overall allocation for health of €22.5 billion for 2024 will not be sufficient to solve serious and consistent overcrowding problems at Irish public hospitals, including MUH, and that this will contribute to concerns over the safety of both staff and patients in the absence of safe staffing framework and ratios.
Deputy Cullinan and Deputy Conway-Walsh also met with staff at the centre who wished to raise issues with them.
Similar meetings are scheduled to take place at the Sacred Heart Hospital and Mayo's district hospitals in Swinford, Belmullet and Ballina as Sinn Féin escalates its efforts to be elected to government after the 2025 general election.
In a separate development, Mayo Fine Gael TD Alan Dillon has hit out at the failure of the HSE to take the required steps to expedite construction of the new emergency department at Mayo University Hospital (MUH).
Deputy Dillon stated: "For me and for members of the Oireachtas, holding the HSE to account is really important.
"The executive's inaction is, at times, unjustifiable.
"The urgency of this matter is stark when one looks at the alarming number of patients who spend more than 24 hours on trolleys at MUH and that was underscored in 2023 when the latest figures were released."
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"There is a pressing need for a new ward block within MUH and we must vigorously campaign for the realisation of that.
"A recent HIQA report outlined deficiencies within the facilities and held that the need for a 75-bed ward block at the Mayo site was unquestionable.
"This is one of the long-term actions that the management within MUH presented as a valid solution, particularly in the context of addressing the shortage of single, en-suite rooms in MUH.
"Mayo deserves access to quality healthcare services in a timely and efficient manner."