McKenna raises Medical Assessment Unit with HSE Forum

Feasibility report due before end of the month

Sinn Féin Councillor, Brian McKenna raised the issue of the Medical Assessment Unit at Monaghan General Hospital at the HSE’s Regional Forum when it met earlier this week.

In a question to the HSE executive Cllr. McKenna asked when it is expected that the feasibility report into the development of a M.A.U at Monaghan General Hospital will be completed. He pointed out that it was now almost three months since this work was commenced that people were led to believe that it would be completed within 6 - 8 weeks.

In a written response by HSE Area Manager, Leo Kinsella, Cllr. McKenna was informed that:

“A representative group has been established by the HSE to undertake a feasibility study on the development of a Medical Assessment Unit in Monaghan Hospital. This independent feasibility study will establish if there is a clinical need for a Medical Assessment Unit in Monaghan Hospital for the Monaghan population and establish the pay and non pay costs and internal/external support services associated with the establishment and running of a MAU in Monaghan.

“The project will demonstrate evidence of the local health demographic and local health data of the Monaghan population relevant to medical assessment unit services.

“The group commenced its work on Monday, 17th October, 2011 and the timeframe for completion of the project is 6 – 8 weeks. A report will be completed by end January 2012.

“The membership of the Group are as follows:-

“Dr. Louise Doherty, Specialist in Public Health Medicine, HSE North West;
Dr. James Hayes, Consultant Physician and Clinical Director, Cavan General Hospital;
Ms. Eileen Whelan, Director of Nursing, Louth/Meath Hospital Group, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital;
Ms. Ruth Murdiff, (Service User Panel Representative);
Mr. Robert Dancey, (Service User Panel Representative);
Mr. Gerry Clerkin, Risk Advisor, Risk Management Department, Cavan and Monaghan Hospitals;
Mr. Cathal Hand, Development Officer, Primary and Community Care, HSE Cavan Monaghan;
Dr. Ilona Duffy, General Practitioner, Monaghan.”

Speaking afterwards Cllr. McKenna welcomed that some progress had been made on this issue to date and that the feasibility report is scheduled to be published by the end of January. The Sinn Féin representative stated that his party would continue to press the HSE and the government to deliver the promised Medical Assessment Unit at a matter of urgency and priority.

“Fianna Fáil should be honest on hospital” – Brian McKenna

North Monaghan & Regional Health Forum member Cllr. Brian McKenna has welcomed the fact that Deputy Margaret Conlon has finally woken up to the potential for development at Monaghan General Hospital. However the Sinn Féin Councillor said that Fianna Fáil couldn’t have it both ways – stating that they have no say in relation to decisions affecting the hospital one minute and then claiming to be making a contribution to its future in the next sentence.

Cllr. McKenna said “perhaps if Deputy Conlon had been as positive and forceful when the HSE were removing services from Monaghan General Hospital we wouldn’t be in the situation we are now. Instead Deputy Conlon, and her Fianna Fáil colleagues, used the HSE mantra that no service would be removed until another was put in place elsewhere when clearly the HSE had failed to provide alternative and accessible services for the people. I don’t think that people will be fooled by this so called 5 point plan for Monaghan General Hospital. What Deputy Conlon should be calling for is the return of medical cover to our hospital and for the ICU to treat patients suffering from heart attacks. What has been suggested is all very low key, the bulk either already committed or being argued for by a variety of voices.

“Many of us have been battling with the HSE over the past 12 months to ensure patients from Drogheda and Dublin hospitals would be repatriated to Monaghan and we now have that commitment in place. The long promised CT scanner will soon be operational as a result of continued pressure on the HSE when both Deputy O’Hanlon and Deputy Conlon were silent on these issues.

“What the people of Monaghan now want and deserve is honesty from government representatives such as Deputy Conlon. They can force a change in HSE policy and they could have prevented services being removed from our hospital. They should acknowledge their failures to date and join with Sinn Féin, Fine Gael and the Hospital Alliance in our shared campaign to have them restored.”

McKenna secures HSE concession on repatriation of patients to Monaghan General Hospital

North Monaghan Sinn Féin Councillor and Regional Health Forum member, Brian McKenna, has received a commitment from the HSE that Monaghan General Hospital could and would receive patients from Drogheda and Dublin hospitals following procedures being carried out. Cllr. McKenna had previously highlighted the fact that only patients treated in Cavan could be transferred to Monaghan. He had pointed out the waste of step down and rehabilitation beds available in Monaghan under the previous scheme was informed at a meeting of the Regional Health Forum by Hospital Network Manager Mr. Stephen Mulvany that so long as a reasonable number of beds were available for Cavan patients returning then other patients from Drogheda or Dublin hospitals could and should be accommodated in Monaghan.

Cllr. McKenna in response to Mr. Mulvany’s statement at the meeting requested that this be communicated to the relevant people in the other hospitals. Cllr. McKenna in a statement afterwards said: “this is an issue I have raised in recent months and I know of a number of instances where the HSE have refused to repatriate patients from Drogheda back to Monaghan General Hospital to recover from operations. I very much want to welcome Mr. Mulvany’s acknowledgment of the folly of such a policy and furthermore his commitment to issue the appropriate instruction to the relevant hospitals and staff members. I would encourage people who are unable to cope at home with family members recovering from operations to insist that they are returned to Monaghan where they will receive the appropriate care from qualified staff and make visiting much easier for their relatives. There is no valid reason why beds should be empty in Monaghan and patients lying on trolleys in Cavan, Drogheda or Dublin hospitals” Cllr. McKenna concluded.

SF Regional Heath Forum rep claims HSE are putting Patient Safety at risk

North Monaghan Sinn Féin councillor and member of the Dublin/ North East Regional Health Forum, Brian McKenna, has said the HSE are putting at risk the lives of patients in North Monaghan following their relocation of the Rapid Response Vehicle from Monaghan to Castleblayney. Cllr. McKenna said:

“The North-East Transformation document drawn up prior to the removal of acute medical cover from Monaghan General Hospital promised an enhanced ambulance service which included a Rapid Response Vehicle with appropriately trained advanced paramedics to be based in the county town.

“Since the withdrawal of acute medical cover from the Louth Hospital in Dundalk the HSE have relocated this Rapid Response Vehicle to Castleblayney to provide cover in the North Louth areas. This is a hugely dangerous move and it is placing the lives of people in North Monaghan at serious risk. Where is the concern we hear regularly from HSE and Fianna Fáil spokespersons about patient safety and quality of care. The HSE and government parties have once again broken their commitments to the people of Monaghan.

“I will continue to highlight these failures on their part. Meanwhile, it is incumbent on all political parties to pressurise the HSE to honour its promises to the people. There is especially a responsibility on Fianna Fáil councillors and TD’s to once and for all stand up for the people of County Monaghan. They had the power to keep acute medical cover in Monaghan General Hospital and the failed to do so. They now have the power to have the Rapid Response Vehicle located in our county town but are remaining silent on the issue. It is the very least that the people of North Monaghan should expect” Cllr. McKenna concluded.

McKenna slams government decision to stop CLÁR funding for local roads

North Monaghan Sinn Féin Councillor, Brian McKenna, has slammed the decision of the government to stop CLÁR funding for rural lanes under the Local Improvement Scheme. Cllr. McKenna stated that many lanes within the CLÁR area had received funding under this scheme in recent times and it meant that those living in isolated rural areas were in a position to upgrade and resurface the access to their homes.

He said: “There continues to be many lanes within the CLÁR area in much need of resurfacing. In many cases those living on these lanes are elderly people on their own. Some of them have already been waiting for years for assistance. This government decision will inevitably mean further delays, perhaps for many years, for applicants of this scheme”.

Under the Local Improvement Scheme residents and landowners receive resurfacing works to their lanes provided they make a financial contribution and carry out preparatory works themselves. The CLÁR funding, which has been stopped, provided funding for lanes in the more isolated rural areas.

Brian McKenna secures Regional Health Forum backing for retention of services at St. Davnet’s Hospital

North Monaghan Sinn Féin Councillor and member of the HSE Regional Health Forum, Brian McKenna, successfully moved a motion to that body calling for the retention of the Admissions Unit and Day Care Centre at St. Davnet’s Psychiatric Hospital in Monaghan. Significantly the motion was passed unanimously by all the members present at the meeting of the forum held on Monday last.

In moving the motion Cllr. Mckenna stated that St. Davnet’s had a “proud record of service stretching back a long number of years to people in need of psychiatric support from the Cavan and Monaghan areas”. Referring to the document ‘a vision for change’ which recommends the integration of people with psychiatric illnesses into the community as opposed to the institutionalisation method Cllr. McKenna said that St. Davnet’s had led the way in this respect and indeed was now used as a template by the authors of that report.

According to the Sinn Féin representative “St. Davnet’s is now been made the victim of its own success. However many professionals within the psychiatric services still believe that there is still a need for an admissions unit at St. Davnet’s catering for people with severe problems or who have no family to support them in the wider community”.

He continued: “The proposed closure of the ‘Day Centre’ runs contrary to stated government policy as set out in the aforementioned ‘vision for change’ which encourages care in the community.” Cllr. McKenna called on the HSE to recognise the tremendous contribution that St. Davnet’s had provided and continues to provide to those in need of psychiatric services. He also stated that the fact that the Regional Health Forum had unanimously supported a motion calling for the retention of these services presented a challenge to the HSE and the government; “will they accept the wishes of the only democratic forum established under the HSE system?” he asked.

McKenna keeps pressure on HSE for Monaghan’s CT Scanner

The Sinn Féin representative on the H.S.E. Regional Health Forum, Cllr. Brian McKenna, raised the issue of the long promised CT scanner for Monaghan General Hospital at Monday’s meeting of the body. In a question to HSE officials Cllr. McKenna asked if the new CT scanner had been installed; if not, when would it be so; and when will the necessary staff to operate the scanner be in position?

In their response the HSE stated that “the new CT scanner for Monaghan Hospital has been delivered and is currently being installed and is due to be commissioned in the near future. Training for staff has been ongoing and the service is expected to commence in June on a phased basis initially, with support from Radiology Staff in Cavan. A total of 1.2 WTE Posts has been agreed under the Transformation programme for this service.”

In reply Cllr. Mckenna expressed disappointment with the HSE response stating that it appeared that the operational date for the scanner has been put on the long finger once again, this time till June. “At our meeting in January I was informed that the CT scanner would in commissioned by mid-February. This is not acceptable and I will be doing my best to ensure that it is put in place, as promised, as soon as possible” he concluded.

Sinn Féin Ard Fheis calls for radical action to create jobs

Among the key themes at the Sinn Féin Ard Fheis was the need to create jobs and rejuvenate the economy. Delegates endorsed detailed policy proposals aimed at getting Ireland back to work. Speaker after speaker highlighted the failures of the current Fianna Fáil/ Green Party government but also the policies of Fine Gael which were described as no different to the positions of the current government.

Speaking live on RTÉ and BBC on Saturday morning Sinn Féin Dáil leader Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin argued the need for the protection of public services from cutbacks and the need to integrate public services North and South.

He said: “Public Services are under attack because Fianna Fáil-led Governments by their bad policies and bad management over the past 12 years have bankrupted the economy. And how are they trying to fix it?

“Not by calling to account the bankers and developers and property speculators and the so-called regulators who caused it. Not by making the wealthy pay their fair share.

“No, the Fianna Fáil solution is to slash the wages of low paid workers, slash social welfare and slash public services. Public services are being undermined and public servants are being demonised.

“Who are these public servants? They are the nurses who care for people in hospital and in the community. They are the teachers who teach our children. They are the firefighters and gardai who protect our communities. They are the workers who keep our water flowing and our streets clean.

“In the past year as recession deepened and as the Fianna Fáil/Green Government cut savagely into our public services, Sinn Féin representatives in the Oireachtas, on local authorities and in our communities have been battling side by side in solidarity with all those who are determined to maintain vital public services.

“We have highlighted the heartlessness of a Government that could take €8.50 per week out of the pockets of people who are caring for elderly or disabled relatives in their homes. We have opposed the plans of a Government that wants to fatally damage our health services by taking a further 1,100 acute hospital beds out of the system in 2010. We have stood against a Government that trumpets its commitment to education but that condemns children to learn in pre-fabs and takes support away from children with special needs.

“But we have done more. We have presented our real, viable alternatives, based on fairness, efficiency and the delivery of better services to the people. And those services will be delivered better also on an all-Ireland basis. We must end the duplication of Departments and agencies and systems on this small island and integrate our public services” he concluded.

NAMA

Later on Saturday Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin led the party’s charge against NAMA stating: “There is no doubt about who Fianna Fáil and the Greens are serving with NAMA. It is a bailout for the greediest and the most corrupt in Irish society.

“Throughout the so-called Celtic Tiger years, Fianna Fáil-led Governments pampered this elite group. They allowed them to benefit from massive tax breaks at unknown cost to the State. They allowed them to determine the State’s housing policy – a policy which was no policy but to let the market drive everything. And it drove property prices to unreal and unsustainable levels and drove the economy over a cliff.

“It drove a frenzy of greed for property, inducing many who could not afford to do so, to borrow to buy in the grossly inflated market. It drove debt to levels previously unknown in this country. It was fuelled by cheap loans supplied by a banking system corrupted by the culture of greed that saw massive salaries, bonuses and perks lavished at all senior levels in the financial institutions.

“Who are the biggest losers in all of this? Not the bankers and the property speculators who did the crime because they will never do the time. Not the politicians who facilitated them because no-one in Fianna Fáil or the PDs and now the Green Party ever admit any responsibility for anything and they are never made to pay the price for their disastrous policies and disastrous management.

“No, the real losers in all of this are the hundreds of thousands who have lost their jobs, they are the families saddled with massive mortgages for whom the fear of losing their homes is a constant in their daily lives, they are the lower and middle income earners who are being punished by savage Budget cuts, they are the young with no prospects of work at home, the carers and cared for, the children with special educational needs and the blind. In this society today people are forced to pass on a doctor’s visit or on their medication because they have to meet other pressing needs for themselves and their families.

“The restructured banking sector envisaged by Sinn Féin goes far beyond just restoring normality to the system. There was nothing normal about a sector that systematically overcharged customers, was complicit in tax evasion and routinely withdrew access to financial services from working class and rural areas because of profit pursuit. As well as intense regulation of the sector, Sinn Féin wants to see a banking system that contributes to the greater good of an economy that serves society as a whole. We also want to see all those who participated in and encouraged the practices that brought about the current crisis held to account and criminal convictions pursued” he said.

McCarthy Report

In his remarks North Monaghan Councillor, Brian McKenna said that the government has no mandate to implement the McCarthy report. “Fianna Fáil were elected on promises of lower taxes and higher spending while the Green Party were elected on a promise of delivering world peace” he joked.

“Since then we have seen broken promise after broken promise. In County Monaghan we have seen the removal of hospital services and the slashing of community funding right across the board. The McCarthy report is being implemented by stealth.

“Across this state we are seeing the outworking of a report that was drafted by right-wing economists at the behest of a right wing government. Any further implementation of the McCarthy report will devastate healthcare for the sick, education for children, care for older people and social supports for all those who need them.

“Having refused to accept responsibility for the economic recession which was caused by its policies, the Government is now using the McCarthy report as the basis for cuts that will hit the most vulnerable the hardest. At the same time it is trying to claim credit when it does not implement some of the harshest measures.

“This Fianna Fáil and Green Party Government have no mandate to implement any such programme. Therefore it should put this programme before the people in a General Election. Let the Government parties and indeed all parties set out their plans to address the economic crisis and let the people decide” Cllr. McKenna stated.

Education

During the education section County Monaghan schoolteacher, Enda Tourish outlined the implications that government cutbacks have already had on the education of young people. He also outlined the anger felt by many teachers at the manner in which wage cuts have been implemented by the government. “Teachers and children and others who provide and use public services are the people who are paying the heaviest price of Fianna Fáil in power” he said.

Providing an effective opposition

Speaking at the Ard Fheis South Monaghan Councillor, Matt Carthy, stated that it was Sinn Féin alone who would represent the needs of those people who were let down by Fianna Fáil over the past decade.

He said: “Unemployment, poverty, emigration and partition are realities for this generation just as they were for our counterparts in the thirties, the fifties, the eighties.

“And why are we back to this point? Because the same politics, implemented by the same parties, continues to dominate this state.

“We have a government that refuses to stand up to the vested interests that created an economic crisis; that forces hundreds of thousands of young people to live in poverty or to move abroad. A government that bails out the banks but shrugs as they tell local communities ‘the money’s just not there’.

“And standing in the wings, ready to take power simply because people are so fed up with Fianna Fail are Fine Gael and Labour.

“We don’t have to wait until they’re in power to know they will be no different.

“When Fianna Fáil were privatising state assets, crippling broadband provision, wiping out the Irish sugar industry and costing thousands of Irish jobs in companies like Aer Lingus– Fine Gael supported them.

“When Fianna Fáil cut the wages and living conditions of the low paid and the unemployed – Fine Gael promised they could do worse.

“And while Fianna Fáil have gutted services from hospitals such as in Monaghan – Fine Gael have said they will not restore them.

“These parties don’t represent the young unemployed or family farmers, or low paid workers or are those who want to see a United Ireland.

“In Sinn Féin we know whose side we’re on and we don’t care if the media, or big business, or the cosy political cartel don’t like it.

“We’re on the side of jobs for our young people. We’re on the side of fair play for local communities. We’re on the side of a health service that doesn’t care how much money is in your bank account.

“Put simply, we’re on the side of the Irish people so let’s take that message to the country.

“Ireland, now, more than ever needs a strong Sinn Féin. Let us go into our communities and deliver just that”.

“Monaghan Patients Denied Access to Recuperation in Monaghan Hospital!” - McKenna

The Sinn Féin member on the Regional Health Forum, Brian McKenna, has described as “scandalous” the confirmation from the HSE this week that Monaghan patients who have procedures carried out in any hospital other than Cavan General cannot and will not be repatriated to recuperate and recover in Monaghan. This is despite the fact that 26 non-acute beds had been set aside in the hospital under the North-East Transformation Programme.

The North Monaghan councillor was speaking after making representation to the HSE on behalf of two Monaghan patients, one from Cavan Hospital and the other from Our Lady of Lourdes in Drogheda, to be repatriated to Monaghan hospital to recuperate following recent procedures.

Speaking this week an angry Cllr McKenna said: “This, in my opinion, represents yet another u-turn on the part of the HSE in relation to what they promised the people of this county under the North-East Transformation Programme. We were told that the 50 acute beds in Monaghan General Hospital would be reduced to 26 non-acute, 13 of which would be for rehabilitation and 13 a mixture of step-down/ respite/ convalescent beds. The HSE are now saying these beds are only for patients who are referred back from a stay in Cavan Hospital and if a patient is returning from Drogheda or a Dublin Hospital then they must go home or possibly to a nursing home if one can be found with a free bed.

“This is outrageous and a breach of trust and faith by the HSE with the people of this county. I would encourage families to refuse to accept family members from Drogheda or Dublin hospitals who return within days of operations and have no facilities or family members to look after them. This is an issue I intend to raise at the next meeting of the Regional Health Forum”.

Cllr. McKenna also called on local Fianna Fáil representatives to “once and for all get of the sidelines” on the issue of Monaghan General Hospital. The fact is that this government can intervene to not only resolve this issue but indeed ensure that all services previously removed can be restored to our hospital. Unfortunately the local Fianna Fáil councillors and TD’s have shown little appetite to stand up to their own party on this issue.

“It is also ironic that this news has been revealed just a little over a week since the Fine Gael members joined Fianna Fáil in ensuring that visiting Ministers to our county can now waltz in without being confronted on this issue by elected representatives in an official capacity.”

Brian McKenna slams ‘sneaky’ Taoiseach visit

North Monaghan Councillor, Brian McKenna, has stated that the visit by Taoiseach Brian Cowen to Monaghan on Monday was ‘sneaky’. The Sinn Féin representative slammed the fact that Mr. Cowen, just like his predecessor Bertie Ahern, has continuously refused to visit Monaghan General Hospital or to even meet with local councillors to discuss the issue of health services in this county.

Cllr. McKenna welcomed the news for the VEC and congratulated all elected opinion and VEC officials for their efforts in securing the new facility at the former barracks.

However, according to Cllr. McKenna “The manner of Brian Cowen’s visit says more about the Taoiseach and the Fianna Fáil party than anything else. Considering that the Taoiseach has refused numerous requests to visit Monaghan General Hospital or to even meet local councillors to discuss the issue it is strange that he can sneak into the county on a Monday morning without giving advance notice speaks volumes.

“His refusal to meet the elected representatives of County Monaghan to hear their concerns and the concerns of the people following the closure of services in our hospital is nothing short of a disgrace. Fianna Fáil, in a very underhanded way, ensured that Acute Medical Services at Monaghan General Hospital, were withdrawn only after the local elections.

“Now Fianna Fáil Councillors and TD’s are doing all in their power to have the issue ‘forgotten’ by the electorate. The fact that these local Fianna Fáil Councillors and TD’s collude in secret visits to County Monaghan by Ministers and the Taoiseach shows the commitment, or lack of it, that they have for the retention and development of services at our hospital”.

Cllr. Brian McKenna also stated that he, and his Sinn Féin colleagues, would always welcome good news for our county. He said that his party were particularly pleased that the site of the former barracks (which regrettably was closed down by this government) would be now used for the development of MIFET, gaelscoil, gaelcholáiste and other VEC facilities especially as the original proposal in this regard emanated from his colleague, Seán Conlon. However Sinn Féin he said would “not allow the Taoiseach or any other member of government to sneak into the county while so many other services and initiatives had been robbed from Monaghan by Fianna Fáil, not least from our local hospital.”