This article is from page 13 of the 2006-01-24 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 13 JPG
MEMBERS of the Ennis General Hospital Development Committee are to meet with members of the HSE this Thursday, just a week after the group nailed questions about the future of the hospital to the door of the organisation’s regional head quarters in Limerick.
The sheet contained questions for the HSE’s chief executive Brendan Drumm, who the group say has refused to meet them despite numerous requests.
A spokesperson for the lobby group told The Clare People that the group met with the Minister for Health and the Taoiseach and got clarification on the hospital’s future from them.
“The third person we need to find out from is Professor Drumm, and not get half assurances from a more junior employee,” he said.
“We have made it as simple as possible for him, as we drafted a form with simple yes or no answers and sent it to him by registered post.”
When the HSE Chief forwarded the letter to be dealt with by another staff member, the group nailed the form to the HSE doors in Limerick.
In response to the protest the HSE said, “The group knows the score perfectly well. They met the hospital network manager in October and then cancelled a further meeting.
“As far as the HSE is concerned, the door is open if they wish to meet us again. The decision is theirs.”
The hospital group accused the HSE of spinning the truth. The group admitted that it cancelled the meeting but argued that it was scheduled for the national day of protest and some of its members including its chairperson, long-time trade unionist Peadar McNamara, had to attend the protest.
While the members of the Ennis General Hospital Development committee were nailing their questions to the door, there were nine people waiting to be admitted to the hospital through its accident and emergency unit, the largest in the Mid West Region.
The following day, the number had decreased to three according to the HSE. The number waiting in St John’s Hospital Limerick was four, which decreased to two, and the Mid Western Regional Hospital Limerick reported four people waiting in A and E, which was also reduced to two the following day.