by Louise Doyle
THERE was further upset on the health front this week when it emerged €29 million was paid out to private hospitals in two years in a bid to address waiting lists locally.
The National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) paid out the funds for elective in-patient and day-case surgeries in 2023 and 2024.
The figures came as Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill met with a delegation of consultants and general practitioners in Donegal on Tuesday. The meeting came in response to 171 clinicians signing a letter to the minister, calling for a pause and a review of the decision to select Sligo University Hospital for the site of a new surgical hub for the north west.
Pádraig MacLochlainn TD said the figures by the NTPF demonstrate the real need for a surgical hub to be based in Letterkenny rather than in Sligo.
“There is a severe crisis in surgical care at Letterkenny University Hospital that threatens the ability of the hospital to operate an Emergency Department in the times ahead.
“This crisis is due to years of neglect and the systematic underfunding of our major hospital in Donegal,” he said.
“Rather than investing in a surgical hub at Letterkenny that would reduce our long waiting lists and attract the surgeons, doctors and nurses that we need, our government has handed almost €29 million to private hospitals to carry out procedures on Donegal patients that should be carried out in Donegal.”
Meanwhile, Tuesday’s meeting between the health minister and local practitioners has been described as “constructive”.
At the meeting, clinicians presented data on geography, population and demographics, day case numbers, staffing numbers and a range of other key metrics.
Speaking after the hour-long meeting, Dr Pádraig McGuinness GP said: “We had a really constructive meeting with the Minister. She was clearly in listening mode and was clearly interested in Letterkenny University Hospital. She went through the data with us and we answered her questions. It was a very informative meeting for both sides.”
Dr Louise Moran, consultant anaesthetist, said the minister was “very clearly data driven” and “had spent time researching the situation at LUH”.
She added: “As evidence based clinicians, we really welcome that approach, as all we are asking for is a level playing field when compared against patients across the country. We are simply asking for a clear comparison of the data across the hospitals and for the best evidence based decision to be made for all the people across the north west.
The doctors and the minister have agreed to meet again in two weeks’ time to discuss the issues raised after both sides have time to reflect and to gather further information.
“We are really impressed by this minister and look forward to working with her to improve LUH.
“We are also looking forward to meeting her again shortly to continue our dialogue and to discuss progressing the surgical hub for
the North West,” said Dr McGuinness.
Regional Executive Officer, West and North West, HSE, Tony Canavan told local radio yesterday that Sligo remains his “preferred location for a surgical hub”.
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