COUNCILLOR Gerry McMonagle has been elected, uncontested, as the new chairperson of the HSE Western Regional Health Forum.
After two years of online/virtual group meetings, the Regional Health Forum held its first in-person meeting in Galway on Tuesday, where a new board of officers was elected for the upcoming term.
The Sinn Féin councillor takes over from Tipperary Fianna Fáil councillor, John Carroll while the new vice chair of the forum is Galway Fianna Fail councillor, Donagh Killilea.
Addressing members, Councillor McMonagle said: “It hasn’t been an easy time over the last two years as most meetings had to be carried out over Zoom but I wish to pay tribute to the outgoing officers; you carried out the job very well and we appreciate all you have done, John (Carroll), as the chair, and for your past work.
“We are continuing with the work, even though things are just not the same still and I wish to say to the executive and all of the HSE also, we appreciate all their time, effort and commitment through this time.”
The new chair called for a minute’s silence for lost colleague, Fine Gael councillor, Bernard McGuinness, who died in August 2021 and was a forum member from 2014-2019 and also ‘to remember all we have lost over the past two years’.
Speaking after the meeting Cllr McMonagle thanked his party colleague Albert Doherty and Ciaran Brogan (Fianna Fail) for proposing and seconding him for the position. There were no other proposals.
“It’s good that Donegal has five seats at this type of forum and we can raise the ongoing concerns that are being raised with us across a wide range of health services. I will unashamedly continue to promote and agitate on behalf of the needs of the people of Donegal and raise the gaps we have in our health service.
“That said, we do have a significant health service in Donegal and we have a very proactive, committed workforce,” he said.
Cllr McMonagle is joined by Cllr Doherty, Cllr Brogan, Cllr Gerry Crawford and Cllr Tom Conaghan on the Forum.
“We have five members and you can see that we’re all wearing the Donegal jersey and work together. We raise the issues when they need to be raised while we also flag up the great work that is being done as well,” he said.
One of Cllr McMonagle’s first jobs as Chair will be to seek a meeting with senior management at Letterkenny University Hospital.
“The members asked me to seek a meeting with Sean Murphy (Hospital manager) and hospital management to get an update on the current situation at Letterkenny University Hospital and all the other services being provided.
“We’ll be flying the Donegal flag and fighting for better services for people of the county. We’ll also try to put an end to all this travel where people have to go out of the county for services that should be provided in Letterkenny,” Cllr McMonagle said.
The functional area of the Regional Health Forum West covers the city councils of Limerick and Galway and the county councils of Clare, Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Limerick, Mayo, North Tipperary, Roscommon and Sligo. The region is further broken down into the university hospital grouping known as the Saolta University Health Care Group, providing acute and specialist hospital services to the west and north west and comprising six hospitals across seven sites, namely: Letterkenny, Mayo, Merlin Park, Portiuncula, Sligo and Galway University Hospitals.
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