This article is from page 18 of the 2006-11-21 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 18 JPG
THE Government is to pour more than a billion euro extra into the health sector next year, yet how the increase impacts on the Clare services is as yet unknown.
There are no major capital development plans for the mid west included in the brief outline of where the Government will be allocating next year’s budget. Hospital lobby groups remain cautious as to the future of the Mid-Western Hospital Ennis despite the go ahead of the first phase of development there.
As acute services in Monaghan hospital come under threat and the new CAT scan for the Ennis hospital comes under criticism for having a short life span, there is nothing in the early budget figures to alleviate such fears.
Women in Clare can breath something of a sigh of relief however, as the Government is putting its money where its mouth is in supporting the roll out of Breastcheck.
A total of €8 million additional funding has been provided for further expanding the service in 2007.
Seven years after the pilot programme was launched in the east of the country, women in Clare will finally become part of Breastcheck, more than likely at the end of 2007.
Planning permission has been granted for a unit at the University Hospital Galway, which will accommodate both the Breastcheck base for the West and the existing symptomatic breast disease service in UHG.
In addition to its base in Galway, Breastcheck will have three mobile screening vehicles covering counties Clare, Tipperary North, Galway, Mayo, Roscommon, Sligo, Leitrim and Donegal. Almost 58,000 women in this region, aged between 50 to 64 years, will avail of this service on a two-year cycle.
Another €40 million has been put into services for older people. With a high population of senior citizens in Clare, it will be hoped the Banner County will see a large percentage of that allocation.
Long suffering carers, who are represented by the Clare-based Caring for Carers in Ireland, are also long overdue an increase in their allowance, but such an increase, if any, will more than likely come from the Department of Social Welfare.