UNIONS HAVE given a cautious welcome to Health Service Executive West plans to develop day services at Roscommon County Hospital.
However, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) said any further cuts to the nursing budget in the HSE West region from Donegal to Limerick would not be acceptable.
The INMO, Siptu, Impact and representatives of the Irish Medical Organisation met HSE West senior management in Galway yesterday to discuss the effect of Roscommon hospital’s emergency department closure.
HSE West said the meeting was held to “reaffirm its commitment to Roscommon” and to “update unions on the changes taking place there, and any issues that might arise”.
Siptu acting health division organiser Paul Bell said the unions had been promised a document by HSE West which would outline the planned changes at Roscommon. HSE West “did not want to discuss the emergency department’s closure”, Mr Bell said, but he was both “a little more optimistic, while also somewhat sceptical” of the promised development programme for the hospital.
“Expansion of diagnostics, orthopaedics, day surgery and a new endoscopy unit have been promised for Roscommon, but we would like to see this in writing.”
INMO industrial relations officer for the west Noreen Muldoon said the HSE West had outlined a schedule yesterday which promised a better day service for the Roscommon region.
“We are always a bit cautious about promises which depend on funding,” Ms Muldoon added.
She said the wider issue of replacing student nurses in the HSE West region had not been addressed sufficiently yesterday. The meeting was held to discuss the integration of the Galway and Roscommon hospital services. She warned if student nurses at University Hospital Galway were not replaced next month, the equivalent of 1½ wards could close there.
