LUH patient was asked to lie on the floor – report


A Letterkenny University Hospital patient was asked to lie on the Emergency Department floor after fainting because no bed or chair was available, according to a report in The Irish Times. Apparently, staff at LUH have been told not to ask patients to lie on the floor following the September 2022 incident. It’s reported that […]


Findings of report into Letterkenny University Hospital’s ED crisis expected in New Year


By Jerome Hughes THE FINDINGS of a report into the crisis at Letterkenny University Hospital’s emergency department are expected to be delivered early in the new year. The HSE’s Performance Management and Improvement Unit (PMIU) began its investigation at the hospital’s ED on November 3. In an interview with the Donegal News on Friday, Saolta CEO Tony […]


Health meeting cancelled due to industrial action


CURRENT industrial action by Fórsa saw Tuesday’s meeting of Regional Health Forum, West cancelled. Fórsa’s clerical and administrative members in the HSE have been engaged in a sustained action of non-cooperation since October 6. The industrial action is designed to maximise disruption for HSE senior management, but to minimise disruption to service delivery and service users. […]


Thirty-two children attended hospital with RSV


by Louise Doyle THIRTY-two children in Donegal were hospitalised or attended Letterkenny’s Emergency Department in October with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Figures provided to the Donegal News by the HSE reveal the highest number of cases were among children aged between one to four years (20). Advertisement There were 12 cases of the virus notified in children aged […]


Public urged to be vigilant for contagious RSV virus 


by Louise Doyle THE HSE is urging parents to be vigilant after being notified of almost 60 cases of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) infection in the north west. Latest figures from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) show that between November 5 to November 11, 2023, there were 58 notified cases of RSV in the HSE area of the north west, which includes Donegal, […]


People encouraged to attend health recruitment fair


School leavers, third level students, people looking for a career change and those looking to relocate to Donegal are being encouraged to attend today’s HSE Health and Social Care Recruitment and Education Fair in Buncrana by Donegal government minister, Charlie McConalogue. “Tuesday’s event is for people who want to find out more about the opportunities […]


Mother of son with Down Syndrome accuses the HSE of discrimination


by Louise Doyle A MOTHER whose son has Down Syndrome has spoken of her upset and distress after being told on two occasions by HSE professionals that children with the condition can be “quite lazy”. The mother-of-two has accused the HSE of discrimination for its failure to put in place a plan for her three-year-old […]


Recruitment campaign bid to fill disability vacancies


by Louise Doyle THE HSE has launched a major recruitment drive to fill a number of positions within the Children’s Disability Network Team (CDNT). According to a newspaper advertisement in our sister newspaper, The Fermanagh Herald, HSE Community Healthcare Organisation (CHO) 1 Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan and Sligo is recruiting a number of grades for CDNT. […]


HSE to appoint specialist team to assess LUH issues


The HSE’s specialist emergency department team is to be appointed to Letterkenny University Hospital to assess and address the ongoing problems at the hospital’s emergency department. The Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has asked the HSE’s CEO, Bernard Gloster, to assign the specialist team. According to Donegal minister Charlie McConalogue, it will mean hospital management […]


Trolley figures are a “high risk event” – INMO


by Louise Doyle THE Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation is calling for “urgent talks” to address mounting pressures in hospitals amid latest trolley figures posing a “high risk event”. The organisation has said each hospital group and the HSE must “outline immediately” what they are doing to reduce significant pressures in what it has described as “intolerable environments”. Advertisement The […]