Sir, – I would like to bring the following to your attention regarding the closure of Roscommon casualty (“Urgent care centre will replace A&E at Roscommon hospital”, July 1st).
Co Roscommon is often left without an ambulance at night;instead I have been asked to attend Road Traffic Accidents. I last worked as a Casualty Officer 28 years ago. I do not have a qualification in advanced trauma life support or a four-wheel drive vehicle. I am a typical GP.
On three other occasions, having called an ambulance or emergency admissions, I have been asked if the patient was private or public. The public patients could not get an ambulance until the next morning whereas the private patient went that night.
One of my 15-year-old sons was recently very sick and had to go to Galway University Hospital for treatment. He was in casualty overnight and until the next afternoon. He could not be listed for symptom-relieving, potentially life saving treatment until he had a bed. Staff explained that this delay is normal procedure in Galway.
At the last election Fine Gael promised to maintain services at Roscommon County Hospital.
A quick, cheap, short-term solution is a fixed-term full-time casualty consultant appointment in Roscommon. This would allow a breathing space for Galway University Hospital casualty to be reorganised, ambulance staff to be increased and GPs to be trained up. With this pressure out of the way the correct decisions could be made for the future. If services were better and giving better outcomes there could be no cause for complaint. – Yours, etc,