by Louise Doyle

A DONEGAL deputy has told the Dáil that the longer the uncertainty over the location of the north west surgical hub continues, doubts over just how future-proof services at Letterkenny University Hospital are could deepen.

Pearse Doherty TD warned the government that LUH faces the potential of being downgraded from its current Model 3 status if the surgical hub is not located there.

He said there will be knock-on implications for other major provisions in the hospital including maternity services and the accident and emergency department.

The matter was raised in the Dáil yesterday amid the continued controversy since it emerged that the hub’s preferred location is in Sligo rather than in Donegal.

Deputy Doherty and his party colleague Deputy Padraig MacLochlainn sought clarity in the wake of comments made by Minister of State Marian Harkin, confirming that the decision to base the surgical hub in Sligo was a part of her negotiations during the Programme for Government talks.

Deputy Doherty told the Dáil: “If she (the minister for health) makes the decision based on facts, there is no doubt about it that the surgical hub will be located in Letterkenny.

“We need that decision, and we need it urgently but most importantly we need the right decision.”

The Dáil heard that no decision has yet been taken on the location of the north west surgical hub, with Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill taking time to understand the situation in Donegal.

A group of doctors met with the Minister for Health on Tuesday evening to continue discussions and present new clinical and demographic data supporting their campaign.

Deputy Doherty stressed that the issue was not solely about the surgical hub but was much wider.

“It is about A&E, about maternity services closing down. It is about our hospital being downgraded. These are not my words, but the words of those on the frontline.”

Deputy MacLochlainn warned the Dáil that LUH is currently down to three permanent surgeons – down from six in recent years. He said that medics have warned that if the hospital cannot attract the surgeons that it needs, emergency services will be impacted upon.

“Can you imagine we’d lose an emergency department in Letterkenny University Hospital? That’s how serious our surgical services have gotten to.

“If you decide the surgical hub for the north west is in one place, Sligo, it’s just the death knell,” he said.

Dr Padraig McGuinness, one of the doctors behind the campaign for a surgical hub in Letterkenny, said the decision appears to have been made “purely on political grounds at the expense of the 160,000 patients living in Donegal”.

“This was one of the deals done to secure support from Deputy Lowry’s independents,” he said.

Dr McGuinness warned that if the hub is not based in Letterkenny, people will take to the streets.

“If Sligo is granted a hub on political grounds and Letterkenny is not, resulting in worse outcomes for Donegal patients, we will be left with no choice but to publicly demonstrate the strength of local opposition and concern.”