CAMPAIGNERS for health services in Limerick, Clare, and Tipperary have launched a survey to be sent to the Minister for Health on what people want done on foot of the HIQA report into emergency services across the region.
The Mid West Hospital Campaign (MWHC) members said it is now almost two weeks since TDs and Senators from Clare, Limerick, and North Tipperary met with Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill to discuss the report and its significant recommendations for the future of healthcare and hospital services in the Mid West.
TDs and Senators for the Mid West formed a cross-party group to meet with the Minister after she promised a decision n the options put forward by HIQA before Christmas.
The Oireachtas members, in their letter to the Minister, outlined a proposal, co-signed by the HSE Patient and Service User Council, the representative body for approximately 420,000 patients across the region.
“Viewing the three options contained in the HIQA report as a suite of measures, rather than choices, offers the only pathway to restoring hope and achieving equity in healthcare for future generations here in the Mid West,” the letter read.
The group told the Minister that “it is also essential that you include the indicative costings for these proposals in the Revised National Development Plan in order to provide clear evidence to our constituents and service users across the Mid West of the commitment from you Minister, your department, and that of government, to delivering equitable and sustainable healthcare for all citizens”.
The letter was signed by Deputy Joe Cooney, Minister Patrick O’Donovan, Minister Timmy Dooley, Minister Niall Collins, Deputy Willie O Dea, Deputy Cathal Crowe, Deputy Maurice Quinlivan, Deputy Donna McGettigan, Deputy Richard O’Donoghue, Deputy Ryan O’Meara, Senator Maria Byrne, Senator Joanne Collins, Senator Martin Conway, Senator Dee Ryan, and John Wall, HSE Patient and Service User Council chairman.
“Despite the seriousness of what was discussed, no joint statement or clear update has been issued,” the Mid West Hospital Group have now said in a statement. “This disjointed approach has caused uncertainty, confusion, and a complete lack of accountability.”
“The people of this region, who have carried the burden of inadequate services and led the campaign for safe, accessible healthcare deserve full transparency – they deserve to be informed. And, crucially, they deserve to be heard”.
“The Midwest Hospital Campaign is taking that responsibility seriously. We have launched a public survey with direct questions on the future of healthcare in the Mid West. The findings will be sent in full to the Minister and to every political representative involved in these decisions”.
The survey can be found on surveymonkey.com/r/LMCJFVC.