Public meeting on Letterkenny hospital crisis next week

The second stage in the ongoing battle to highlight the need for improvements at Letterkenny University Hospital will centre around the formation of a new countywide committee.

To this end, a public meeting has been scheduled for Dillon's Hotel, Letterkenny on Thursday week, February 16 starting at 7.30pm.

This follows last month's successful National Day of Action protest at the hospital where several hundred turned out to voice their anger at chronic overcrowding in the hospital's emergency department.

Chairperson of the Letterkenny Hospital Campaign, Mary T. Sweeney said the meeting would welcome everyone who expressed an interest in getting involved especially representatives of staff, patients and public representatives. 

She added it was vital as many as possible turned to help plan the next steps of the hospital campaign.

"At the Day of Action, we invited people to put their names down with a view towards extending and creating a more diverse committee. We received over 180 names from across the county which is extremely encouraging. I’m hoping for a strong turnout and I’m calling on all who braved the icy weather at the Action Day to take the next step, come along to Dillons Hotel and get involved in a hands-on manner and join the campaign to highlight the hospital services the people of Donegal both need and deserve. If you care, please be there!” 

Ms Sweeney pointed out they were particularly concerned about the lack of a Minor Injuries Clinic in/around the county.

“While we welcome the recent announcement, in the wake of the Day of Action rally, of a new community x-ray facility in the Errigal Chronic Disease Management Hub, it does not go far enough.

"Our initial focus will be to establish a Minor Injuries Clinic, a crucial service located on the St Conal's campus. This would drastically alleviate not only the unprecedented pressure on the Emergency Department in Letterkenny University Hospital but also ease demands on GP surgeries. 

"There are already eleven Minor Injury Clinics across the country. Shockingly, the nearest one to Donegal is in Monaghan, and it’s apparent, once again, the people of Donegal are being discriminated against.

"We desperately need such a service in place here in Letterkenny and potentially an expansion of services in the Carndonagh, Dungloe and Killybegs HSE facilities,” she said.