Hundreds brave rain in Buncrana to demand action on Nursing Unit delays

Hundreds of people braved cold and damp conditions in Buncrana on Saturday as 500 to 600 protesters gathered outside Buncrana Community Hospital to demand action on the long-delayed redevelopment of the Nursing Unit. 

Families said the delays are already having a serious impact on residents and their relatives, with one local woman telling the crowd how her 95-year-old mother was forced to spend a good part of the last year away from her family in  Buncrana because she could not get a bed in Inishowen.

Addressing the crowd, Maureen Loughrey Tolley of Inish Theatre Group who organised the protest said the situation had reached breaking point for many families.

“It's not acceptable for the old people, for the staff, or for the families. It's the knock-on effect that it is having around the whole of Inishowen.”

Mrs. Loughrey Tolley explained that the number of available beds has dropped significantly since last year.

“We are currently 20 net beds short here since last year. These old people were moved down to the back ward, 11 of them. The rest were moved out last May, telling us that there was going to be renovations and work done to this building last June,” she said.

Maureen said the delays were creating serious difficulties across the region, particularly for families relying on respite care.

“So what impact does that have on these old people? For the families that are waiting on respite, because they can't get respite now. Carndonagh Hospital and Nazareth House are overflowing because they have taken the brunt of the excess from here,” she said.

“It’s just an absolute disgrace, and I think we need to let it be known. We need to get it back to the hierarchies of the HSE that we're fed up with not getting the proper service that we deserve for our old people.”

Mrs. Loughrey Tolley said older people in the community deserved dignity and proper care in their later years.

“They are all vulnerable in society. They are people who worked and paid their taxes, and they deserve to be looked after. Families waiting for respite depend on it; that respite every six weeks is a lifeline for people.”

Maureen added that although her own family is fortunate that her mother currently has a place in the unit, the campaign was about protecting the service for everyone in the community. “We’re not doing it for ourselves, we’re doing it for everybody,” she said.

Another powerful contribution came from Elizabeth-Anne Nelson, who spoke emotionally about her own family’s experience trying to secure care for her mother, Roseleen Cassidy. “My mother helped open this place,” she told the crowd.

Mrs Nelson described the distress her family experienced when her 95-year-old mother could not get a place in Buncrana.

“My mother, 95 years of age, spent the last six months out of Buncrana because she couldn't get in here. She ended up in Letterkenny hospital bed-blocking for three months before someone helped us get her into a nursing home in Ramelton,” she said.

Mrs. Nelson said the experience had taken a significant emotional toll on her family. “I wouldn’t wish what I experienced trying to get Mammy somewhere on anybody. It’s not good for your mental health,” she said.

Joanne Quinn, sister of Maureen, also spoke to highlight the importance of maintaining full capacity at the unit once the refurbishment is completed.

“When you go back to Dublin, we need the assurance that the revenue funding is still in place for the 30 beds and not the 11,” she told attending politicians.

“We don’t just want the refurbishment. We don’t just want it to look good; we need the 30 beds.”

Local representatives, including Sinn Féin TD Padraig McLaughlin, 100% Redress Party TD Charles Ward, and several Inishowen councillors, also attended the protest.

Works on the project were originally expected to begin last June but have been repeatedly delayed. The refurbishment forms part of a wider health infrastructure programme, which allocated funding to upgrade the Buncrana Community Nursing Unit and provide additional facilities for residents.

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Under current plans, the development will include a single-storey extension with six single-bed wards, along with a visitors’ room and waiting area. The existing smoking room will also be converted into a day room for residents.