Your headline ‘LUH faces significant strain following surge in patient numbers’ may be somewhat misleading as the main cause of this situation is the lack of sufficient beds and what is the main reason for this? The fact that it seems to be the main aim of the HSE is to reduce the number of beds available for patients.
Recently I became aware that in one ward in St Joseph’s Hospital, Stranorlar there are only two beds in a ward which at one time contained six, and in Donegal Hospital, Donegal Town, another ward has been closed. Who is responsible for this totally unacceptable situation? The HSE?
How is it possible that this ongoing reduction in bed numbers in our hospitals has been allowed, in the first place, and then become an approved policy?
It is amazing that we are continually bombarded with claims of bed shortages, while more and more beds are being removed.
I spent three weeks in Letterkenny Hospital awaiting a decision on whether I was to have an operation or not because if I had been allowed home it would have taken too long to gain speedy admission, if required, through ED. This leads onto the question I have sought answers for for some time, of why, oh why has every presenting patient to be admitted only through ED? So far I have received no satisfactory reply.
While billions are spent each year on our health service, we have situations like the present one and now the added cancellation of breast cancer operations.
Surely it is time to call a halt to the closure of wards that are necessary to allow patients to be discharged from LUH but who are not ready to be sent home, and secondly, stop the policy of patients only being admitted through ED.
Anything less is totally inexcusable and deplorable.
Yours,
Mary Stewart (Mrs),
Ardeskin,
Donegal Town.
