Td cites growing health crisis

 

A MAYO TD has flagged a crisis in the health service in the region.

Speaking in Dáil Éireann Deputy Dara Calleary said the orthodontic waiting list in the HSE west area for young children stands at over 5,000 and nearly 1,300 have been on the list for between 25 and 48 months.

There were 2,500 people in Galway and Mayo waiting for a rheumatology appointment at one of the two clinics in Merlin Park. The outpatients waiting list at Mayo General Hospital has increased by 400 this year.

The Ballina-based TD said: 'We have moved to a situation where in many rural communities we depend on the goodwill of the HSE to provide a rural practice allowance to recruit GPs. It is not an automatic provision anymore.

'Communities in Bangor and Glenamoy in my county have had to wait to see if the HSE would provide a rural practice allowance before the ad could be placed. As such, we have been left for months with temporary arrangements in GP services.'

He said he has no confidence in the management of the National Ambulance Service and is concerned for people in light of the current position in respect of that service.

'Staff on the ground, including ambulance drivers and paramedics, are doing a wonderful job in incredibly difficult circumstances, as are the staff in all of our hospitals, but they face layers of anonymous people who do not seem to understand the pressure they are under.

'The worst aspect is that no one in the health system’s management seems to care. The waiting lists get longer and the people keep submitting unreasonable funding requests. They claim that they are throwing money at the problem, but they are actually building their own empires and feathering their nests while tens of thousands wait for basic treatment. That is not a republic,' he added.