HSE and Harney: Hands off our hospital

beggars_bush

Well done to the Roscommon HAC (hospital action committee) and the organisers of the protest march in Roscommon town today

well organised, huge turnout and good speeches.

I'd say close to 10,000 people there.

HSE: hands off our hospital. It saves lives locally. Is a quality servies with dedicated staff.

€20 million to run the place annually yet the HSE are mismanaging funds elsewhere so the Roscommon hospital is in danger

shame on Minister Finneran for not standing with the people.

yabadabado

it's been reported on rte.ie that there was 8,000 at the protest.hope it helps keep the hospital open.

In my opinion

beggars_bush wrote: »

Well done to the Roscommon HAC (hospital action committee) and the organisers of the protest march in Roscommon town today

well organised, huge turnout and good speeches.

I'd say close to 10,000 people there.

HSE: hands off our hospital. It saves lives locally. Is a quality servies with dedicated staff.

€20 million to run the place annually yet the HSE are mismanaging funds elsewhere so the Roscommon hospital is in danger

shame on Minister Finneran for not standing with the people.

Agree fully, now lets use it and not lose it..

beggars_bush

It is being used, check out the figures for last 2 years...



but if a consultant surgeon does his surgery in Galway and won't travel to Roscommon to perform operations, what option do people have?

WaltKowalski

When people attend a+e in Roscommon with a broken bone or a sick child and are sent to Merlin Park or Portiuncla - the what option do they have?

In my opinion

WaltKowalski wrote: »

When people attend a+e in Roscommon with a broken bone or a sick child and are sent to Merlin Park or Portiuncla - the what option do they have?

Those people are using it. It's all those from West Roscommon who go straight for Castlebar or North Roscommon who go for Sligo.

queensinead

In my opinion wrote: »

Agree fully, now lets use it and not lose it..

The "people are not using it" accusation is part of Harney-speak, which implies we are all "consumers" and exercise "choice". Hospitals are not like supermarkets, your "choice" is pretty limited when you find yourself ferried off to Galway by ambulance, or referred there.

Fair play to the people of Roscommon for their protest.

beggars_bush

Why should services be taken from Roscommon Hospital when it hasn't over run its own budget??? Roscommon is on budget, providing good services to local people

HSE west is going to overrun by €90 million this year.

what incompetent person/people is responsible for spending money that just isn't there? will they be fired?

or will the same admininstrators/managers just pick on Roscommon hospital?

evolutionqy7

beggars_bush wrote: »

providing good services to local people

your joking right?

beggars_bush

evolutionqy7 wrote: »

your joking right?

no I'm not
how many lives have been saved by Roscommon Hospital being nearby?
how much time is saved be services being available locally?

evolutionqy7

well sorry alot of relatives of mine share my views...

have been in there many times for various things so have my friends and relatives and they have experienced slow inconsistent service. my mothers boyfriend walked in to get a sore spot beside his ear checked out and he sat in the hospital for 12 hours before getting attended...

he asked the nurse several times and she moved him around from waiting room to a diff room then after another hours he asked her is any one gonna check me today so she went down to a doctor which was writing some documents , then she looked at him and carried on writing for an hour till he pointed his watch on the wrist to her...so she came to him giving out with attitude...for coming to a hospital lol

wtf is up with that? this was experienced by alot of people

by no means no one wants it closed...just think massive overhaul should be done to boost the hospitals efficiency...

with the time i have spent in it i could have drove to a better hospital and make it back for dinner instead of spending the whole day there

rossie1977

evolutionqy7 wrote: »

by no means no one wants it closed...just think massive overhaul should be done to boost the hospitals efficiency...

with the time i have spent in it i could have drove to a better hospital and make it back for dinner instead of spending the whole day there

agree with that, roscommon hospital needs a complete overhaul, its not efficient atm and will never be under its current scheme, but closing it would be insane, that would mean somewhere like castlerea (second biggest town in the county) would be over 1 hour from the closest hospital which is unacceptable in a so called first world country

beggars_bush

evolutionqy7 wrote: »

well sorry alot of relatives of mine share my views...

have been in there many times for various things so have my friends and relatives and they have experienced slow inconsistent service. my mothers boyfriend walked in to get a sore spot beside his ear checked out and he sat in the hospital for 12 hours before getting attended...

he asked the nurse several times and she moved him around from waiting room to a diff room then after another hours he asked her is any one gonna check me today so she went down to a doctor which was writing some documents , then she looked at him and carried on writing for an hour till he pointed his watch on the wrist to her...so she came to him giving out with attitude...for coming to a hospital lol

wtf is up with that? this was experienced by alot of people

by no means no one wants it closed...just think massive overhaul should be done to boost the hospitals efficiency...

with the time i have spent in it i could have drove to a better hospital and make it back for dinner instead of spending the whole day there

a lot of hospitals are like that if you go in and its not an emergency
its why people should visit their GP FIRST
not just wander into the hospital to get everything checked out!

monkeypants

Good luck to the people in Roscommon and I hope you keep your hospital. Having said that, I don't see the point of blocking up the streets of Roscommon with 8,000 people. No politician cares. Go and block the front and back entrances of Leinster House. That'll get their attention.

And beware anyone running for government on a "keep our hospital" ticket. Just ask the people of Monaghan about Margaret Conlon.

evolutionqy7

beggars_bush wrote: »

a lot of hospitals are like that if you go in and its not an emergency
its why people should visit their GP FIRST
not just wander into the hospital to get everything checked out!

Hmm well i was sent from GP to the hospital still spent over 5 hours waiting for a bloody xray!!!

and no most hospitals arent like that! its just lazy roscommon

beggars_bush

evolutionqy7 wrote: »

Hmm well i was sent from GP to the hospital still spent over 5 hours waiting for a bloody xray!!!

and no most hospitals arent like that! its just lazy roscommon

you've never been to other hospitals so.

evolutionqy7

ive been dublin/portlaois/ballinasloe and never experienced such bad service...im sorry i dont have to travel the whole of country and try all of the hospitals just to see which ones worse...sitting 5 hours is bad enough to see that things arent going the way they should...thanks to staff that only care about their salary!

lmao ill never protect public service workers cause majority is bloody useless...

megadodge

When living in Dublin I had cause to go to two seperate hospitals. In the first I was waiting FOURTEEN hours for an x-ray, despite having been referred by a GP.

In the other I was EIGHT hours, again after being referred.

It's a countrywide problem.

evolutionqy7

yet every one seems to ignore it...doctors and nurses walking around drinking a cup of tea and talking about grays anatomy last night while patients waiting in the reception

half of them bastards should be sacked

megadodge

So, doctors and nurses working in seriously understaffed areas are "bastards"?

Nothing else needs to be said in relation to your miserable, pathetic attitude to life.

evolutionqy7

how about putting some effort in it?

lol...seriously most of nurses and doctors are layed back over paid dossers

beggars_bush

evolutionqy7 wrote: »

how about putting some effort in it?

lol...seriously most of nurses and doctors are layed back over paid dossers

have you ever worked in a hospital? or with sick/frail people

would you want doctors and nurses rushing around trying to see as many patients as possible?
they have a duty of care

what do you do? apart from run everything down

evolutionqy7

no but my mother was an intensive care nurse and ive spent enough time in a hospital around her to know what goes around and what doesnt...im not saying i want them to run around not taking care of quality of their work...im saying half of them are not working to their best ability cause alot of them are just plain lazy

biko

This thread is about keeping the hospital open and not whether nurses etc are lazy.
Let's stay on course here.

beggars_bush

I see FG have decided to close the A & E at Rocommon Hospital with one stroke of a pen

While sad, I'm not surprised.
the HSE has re-arranged budgets and services to ensure Galway UH is prioritised for eveything
also, lately I've heard stories that the nursing staff at Roscommon hospital are not friendly.
And also that the staff at the A&E were very inefficient with dealing with patients.
is it a case that the staff no longer care when they know the place was in the firing line to be closed?
many local GPs would rather send patients to Galway than support the local hospital when consultants have out-clinics

g5fd6ow0hseima

beggars_bush wrote: »

While sad, I'm not surprised.
the HSE has re-arranged budgets and services to ensure Galway UH is prioritised for eveything

Something which is self-defeating in the highest order. UH just about manages as it is, so what's it going to be like with Roscommon's pantients now forced to use UCHG?

beggars_bush wrote: »

also, lately I've heard stories that the nursing staff at Roscommon hospital are not friendly.

While I have heard nothing of this sort, one must acknowledge that the strenuous working environment may be having its effects on the nursing staff. It's hard keep a smile on your face in most jobs, let alone those working in an under-staffed hospital.

beggars_bush wrote: »

And also that the staff at the A&E were very inefficient with dealing with patients.

I've only been in 3 A&E units in Irish hospitals and I found Roscommon to be no worse than any of them, and I was there as recent as last december.

beggars_bush wrote: »

is it a case that the staff no longer care when they know the place was in the firing line to be closed?

In what way to they 'no longer care'?

beggars_bush wrote: »

many local GPs would rather send patients to Galway than support the local hospital when consultants have out-clinics

Im sure if the relevant consultants are in Roscommon, GPs send their patients there. It goes without saying that UCHG has a far bigger range of consultants within its ranks than Roscommon does.

Chipboard

It's official - Roscommon A&E to close from next Monday. That Feighan guy has some neck to sit right behind Reilly while he spoke on it in the Dail today. People are calling on him to resign but he hasn't got an ounce of shame and it would appear that Naughton is no better.

This should be the end of Fine Gael in Roscommon.

Lady Chatterton

I'm living in Co. Clare but the same thing happened to us in April 2009.

Most people in Clare never dreamt that A&E services (after 8pm) would be removed from Ennis General Hospital either but they were despite all the meetings, protests and rallies. Doctors even warned that lives could/would be lost as a result of the decision but the HSE forged ahead. The HSE don't seem to understand the importance of the "Golden Hour".

What is really worrying is to read about patients who have suffered heart attacks but their journey into Limerick (nearest Centre of Excellence) was delayed because the ambulance personnel couldn't find a house or the ambulance had to travel from another part of the county. The sooner we get postal codes in this country the better, they might help the emergency services locate houses in rural areas quicker.

http://www.clarechampion.ie/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6352:hse-apologises-to-kilnamona-family-for-ambulance-delay&catid=43:health&Itemid=60

I must say that in my experience ambulance personnel are highly skilled and professional who do brilliant work under immense pressure. I believe that closure of A&E in Ennis has placed them under even greater pressure.

When the HSE removed A&E services from Ennis, they promised a "Centre of Excellence" in Limerick. I have had the misfortune of attending A&E in Limerick with a family member and while the nurses and doctors do a wonderful job the place is bursting at the seams and is more akin to a warzone than a hospital department. It is impossible for the Regional to deliver proper services to the people of Limerick City and County, Clare and North Tipp without a substantial increase in resources.

Unfortunately, it seems that the people of Roscommon now find themselves in the same awful position.

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

Chipboard wrote: »

It's official - Roscommon A&E to close from next Monday. That Feighan guy has some neck to sit right behind Reilly while he spoke on it in the Dail today. People are calling on him to resign but he hasn't got an ounce of shame and it would appear that Naughton is no better.

This should be the end of Fine Gael in Roscommon.

+1.

Absolutely disgraceful. How either of them would have the brass neck to show their faces around Roscommon after this shame is incredible. And to think, they're still considering pumping billions into an underground rail system in Dublin (Metro North) when they already have the DART, motorway and Port Tunnel. Absolutely typical of the bulls**t that the people of the west have had to put up with for decades. :mad:

angelfire9

MrsD007 wrote: »

I'm living in Co. Clare but the same thing happened to us in April 2009.

Most people in Clare never dreamt that A&E services (after 8pm) would be removed from Ennis General Hospital either but they were despite all the meetings, protests and rallies. Doctors even warned that lives could/would be lost as a result of the decision but the HSE forged ahead. The HSE don't seem to understand the importance of the "Golden Hour".

What is really worrying is to read about patients who have suffered heart attacks but their journey into Limerick (nearest Centre of Excellence) was delayed because the ambulance personnel couldn't find a house or the ambulance had to travel from another part of the county. The sooner we get postal codes in this country the better, they might help the emergency services locate houses in rural areas quicker.

http://www.clarechampion.ie/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6352:hse-apologises-to-kilnamona-family-for-ambulance-delay&catid=43:health&Itemid=60

I must say that in my experience ambulance personnel are highly skilled and professional who do brilliant work under immense pressure. I believe that closure of A&E in Ennis has placed them under even greater pressure.

When the HSE removed A&E services from Ennis, they promised a "Centre of Excellence" in Limerick. I have had the misfortune of attending A&E in Limerick with a family member and while the nurses and doctors do a wonderful job the place is bursting at the seams and is more akin to a warzone than a hospital department. It is impossible for the Regional to deliver proper services to the people of Limerick City and County, Clare and North Tipp without a substantial increase in resources.

Unfortunately, it seems that the people of Roscommon now find themselves in the same awful position.

MrsD as you know I am from Clare as well but I have to disagree with you here
The people of Roscommon county can (depending on their location) travel to Castlebar, Athlone, Sligo, Galway city or Ballinasloe for A&E services, most people in Roscommon are within 1 hour of one of these hospitals

In Clare most people outside of Ennis are OUTSIDE of 1 hour from A&E in Limerick
In fact, a good chunk of West Clare residents are outside of 2 hours from Limerick RH

i did a few maps in AH to highlight the difference
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=73159939&postcount=32

And for the record my father is from Castlerea, my uncle still lives there and I have family in Roscommon town and a myriad of other places in Co. Roscommon so I am not in any way biased against the Rossies

Lady Chatterton

angelfire9 wrote: »

MrsD as you know I am from Clare as well but I have to disagree with you here
The people of Roscommon county can (depending on their location) travel to Castlebar, Athlone, Sligo, Galway city or Ballinasloe for A&E services, most people in Roscommon are within 1 hour of one of these hospitals

In Clare most people outside of Ennis are OUTSIDE of 1 hour from A&E in Limerick
In fact, a good chunk of West Clare residents are outside of 2 hours from Limerick RH

i did a few maps in AH to highlight the difference
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=73159939&postcount=32

And for the record my father is from Castlerea, my uncle still lives there and I have family in Roscommon town and a myriad of other places in Co. Roscommon so I am not in any way biased against the Rossies

Angelfire - you are missing my point completely.

My point is that in Clare we were promised a Centre of Excellence in Limerick but what actually happened was services were transferred to Limerick Regional Hospital before resources were put in place to deal with the increased capacity. I'm not sure if you have been in A&E in Limerick recently but it is hell on earth. I have great sympathy for the doctors and nurses that have work in such as stressful environment. The hospital is struggling to cope.

There is also an issue regarding ambulances, they do not have SAT NAV devices and there have been issues with ambulance personnel having difficultly locating houses, particularly in rural areas. This could be easily sorted with the introduction of postal codes and also if ambulances were fitted with SAT NAVS.

With regard to times, it is imperative that patients who have suffered heart attacks, strokes etc are seen within an hour, it known in medical circles as the "Golden Hour", during interviews, staff from Roscommon General and members of their action committee have clearly stated that it can take 1 hr 20 mins to 1 hr 30 mins to get to Galway.

As this is the Roscommon forum is probably not fair to be discussing Clare/Limerick but I do hope that when Roscommon's A&E closes that they get the Centre of Excellence that they are being promised and the hospital is given the resources to deal with the increase in A&E referrals.

beggars_bush

have you EVER driven through Claregalway or Tuam?? the roads from Ros town direct to Galway are abysmal. the roads from north and mid Ros through Tuam are even worse.

the road to Ballinasloe from Ros town is attrocious. if you were in Tarmonbarry or Rooskey you would be a long way from an A&E.

then, once you get to Galway you have to get over the Corrib, which is no easy task in mornings or evenings

once you get to Ennis in Clare you have a motorway all the way to Limerick.

angelfire9

beggars_bush wrote: »

have you EVER driven through Claregalway or Tuam?? the roads from Ros town direct to Galway are abysmal. the roads from north and mid Ros through Tuam are even worse.

the road to Ballinasloe from Ros town is attrocious. if you were in Tarmonbarry or Rooskey you would be a long way from an A&E.

then, once you get to Galway you have to get over the Corrib, which is no easy task in mornings or evenings

once you get to Ennis in Clare you have a motorway all the way to Limerick.

I have indeed
As a child we went to Roscommon every summer
I would be renowned in our family for puking in the car at the garage on the way into Tuam many moons ago on the way home from Castlerea
As an adult I have driven through Tuam hundreds of times, both my parents are from Connaught and coming from Clare Tuam is on the main road north to Sligo, Leitrim, Roscommon, most of Mayo, Donegal etc etc


And yes I've been through Claregalway hundreds of times but ambulances can by-pass a fair amount of that traffic to be fair

Now, Rooskey is 1 hour from Sligo mostly on the N4 which is not a particularly bad road, I have relations in Ballinalee (just over the border in Longford) and in Dromod (just over the border to the north in Co. Leitrim so I know that neck of the woods
Termonbarry is a little bit south of Rooskey and a quick hop into Longford on the N5 brings you a choice of 2 hospitals 46 minutes to Athlone or just over an hour into Ballinasloe

Can you actually find a single place in Co. Roscommon that is over 2 hours on from one of the 5 designated A&E centres that are to take Roscommon patients when Roscommon Co. Hospital closes down?

Because in Clare I can find you SEVERAL

Lady Chatterton

angelfire9 wrote: »

And yes I've been through Claregalway hundreds of times but ambulances can by-pass a fair amount of that traffic to be fair

Now, Rooskey is 1 hour from Sligo mostly on the N4 which is not a particularly bad road, I have relations in Ballinalee (just over the border in Longford) and in Dromod (just over the border to the north in Co. Leitrim so I know that neck of the woods
Termonbarry is a little bit south of Rooskey and a quick hop into Longford on the N5 brings you a choice of 2 hospitals 46 minutes to Athlone or just over an hour into Ballinasloe

Can you actually find a single place in Co. Roscommon that is over 2 hours on from one of the 5 designated A&E centres that are to take Roscommon patients when Roscommon Co. Hospital closes down?

Because in Clare I can find you SEVERAL

There has been alot of talk about Ballinasloe being reconfigured as well though. The main issue as I see it is that the Centres of Excellence need to be given adequate resources to deal with the increase in referrals.

Angelfire - the battle in Clare has been well and truly lost, now we have to fight to keep Limerick's A&E open 24 hours.

angelfire9

MrsD007 wrote: »

There has been alot of talk about Ballinasloe being reconfigured as well though. The main issue as I see it is that the Centres of Excellence need to be given adequate resources to deal with the increase in referrals.

Angelfire - the battle in Clare has been well and truly lost, now we have to fight to keep Limerick's A&E open 24 hours.

Limerick has a massive catchment area they can't close it

Limerick Leader Published on Wednesday 22 June 2011 09:28
HEALTH Minister James Reilly has given assurances to the city’s Fine Gael TDs that there will be no night-time closures of A&E at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital this summer.

Lady Chatterton

angelfire9 wrote: »

Limerick has a massive catchment area they can't close it

James Reilly's promises don't mean anything anymore. He sent two letters to the local newspapers and TDs in Roscommon BEFORE the election stating that services would be maintained in Roscommon General Hospital and may even be upgraded. He didn't seem to have much difficulty breaking that promise.

There is a chronic shortage of junior doctors in Limerick and elsewhere so it is very difficult for any minister to give a cast iron guarantee that there won't be some restrictions in Limerick or increased waiting times in an already overcrowded casualty department.

Vincent Browne covered the Roscommon issue tonight on the second half of the show, there was wonderful speaker on from Roscommon and she expressed the concerns of many Roscommon people - i.e that they are at least 100km from their nearest A&E and if they go to Galway, they may be going to a hospital that has 49 people on trollies (which was the case earlier today). I'd say the programme will be up on the TV3 player in a while

Sponge Bob

The HSE West 'Plan' is to close all 24 hour A and E bar Sligo , Galway ( Regional) , Limerick ( Regional) Letterkenny and Castlebar. Ennis and Roscommon sorted, now for Portiuncula and Nenagh which are a quick motorway hop ....( at night of couse) from the nearest 'hospital'. Tuam is also gone as we know.

Lady Chatterton

Sponge Bob wrote: »

The HSE West 'Plan' is to close all 24 hour A and E bar Sligo , Galway ( Regional) , Limerick ( Regional) Letterkenny and Castlebar. Ennis and Roscommon sorted, now for Portiuncula and Nenagh which are a quick motorway hop ....( at night of couse) from the nearest 'hospital'. Tuam is also gone as we know.

Nenagh went 8 to 8 two years ago.

Coolaboy

A Paramedic told me today that each night there is ONE ambulance on in the entire county of Roscommon.

Is mise le key

Hi all,

Now i dont live in roscommon and i am not here with any political aims although it is clear where my politics are by my Sig.

The truth of it is that these issues that affect your community are entirely linked into the cuts program that has been DRAWN UP BY the International Monetary Fund, This is a fact that cannot be gotten away from, while banks like Anglo whos bonds are committed to being covered by the very people who are being affected by this twill be paid.

The protest outside the dail sent a message to the elected representatives who renege on their obligations to their constituents, what is needed now from the people of roscommon is to demonstrate their resolve on this & begin a movment of passive resistance in conjunction with other protests to force this government once & for all to stand up to the EU commision & The IMF/Goldman sachs who are the beneficiaries in the long run from this bailout of the banks.

Roscommon will not have the health care it need unless we pass this debt back to it owners & exit the €uro currency.

Vorsprung

Does anyone have a link to any recent annual reports for the hospital? I'd be interested to know the numbers of attendances and triage categories.

tightropetom

beggars_bush wrote: »

It is being used, check out the figures for last 2 years...

So 14,200 a&e attendances in a year eh? That's around 38 per day. I will see 30 tonight working alone from 9pm to 8am (with backup on-call at home if I need it) in a supposedly quiet a&e. Seeing very few patients equals de-skilling docs. And that could be dangerous.

nice_guy80

tightropetom wrote: »

So 14,200 a&e attendances in a year eh? That's around 38 per day. I will see 30 tonight working alone from 9pm to 8am (with backup on-call at home if I need it) in a supposedly quiet a&e. Seeing very few patients equals de-skilling docs. And that could be dangerous.

There are around 64,000 people in County Roscommon.
that means 1 out of every 4.5 people used the facility.
That is some ratio!!

yabadabado

nice_guy80 wrote: »

There are around 64,000 people in County Roscommon.
that means 1 out of every 4.5 people used the facility.
That is some ratio!!

Not just used by people in county Roscommon.People from some areas of Galway,Longford and leitrim would also use the hospital.

donaghs

I notice they often close A&E facilities at regional hospitals during times of cutbacks. Forgive my lack of understanding here, but surely A&E is fundamentally necessary part of a hospital, large or small?

I can see the logic in moving more specialised procedures to larger "Centres of Excellence". But whats the point of a regional hospital without A&E? Somewhere people can go to in an emergency? (apart from financial savings)

Shelflife

Passed through Roscommon the other day and noticed all the signs around the place which were sponsered all the local businesess.

However i noticed that Lidl, aldi and kfc had none, did they help out in some other way or do they just dont care about the area?