Additional beds to open for general elderly rehabilitation service in Louth County Hospital

The Louth County Hospital in Dundalk

A number of additional beds are to be opened at the Louth County Hospital in Dundalk to establish a general elderly rehabilitation service.

The new service was confirmed in a statement from the HSE, which said the development is one of the measures that has been identified in helping alleviate the over-crowding situation in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda.

Elderly patients in Drogheda who meet the appropriate criteria will now have a period of rehabilitation in Dundalk before being discharged home.

Speaking on LMFM radio this morning, local councillor Tomás Sharkey, a member of the Regional Health Forum, welcomed the news and said he hoped it would be a stepping stone towards the full restoration of services at the Dublin Road hospital.

He said: “It’s more than five years since acute medical, intensive care and A&E services were removed from the Louth County Hospital. That has created an overcrowding crisis in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital for the last five years so when this plan comes to pass and when acute medical beds are back we’re going to see an improvement in services for patients, a reduction in the overcrowding at Our Lady of Lourdes but we’re also going to see the door open once again to keep the pressure on as a community in Dundalk and north Louth to try and get our Minor Injuries Unit to be made 24/7 and to get back A&E and intensive care.”

Yore to stand for Independent Alliance in General Election

Maeve Yore

Local councillor Maeve Yore has declared her intention to run in the next General Election.

The Blakely Close woman is set to run under the Independent Alliance banner, a group headed by Independent TD Shane Ross and Michael Fitzmaurice.

Former Lord Mayor of Drogheda Kevin Callan will also be running for the alliance in the south of the county.

Maeve is married to local fireman Martin Yore, who is the station officer for Louth County Council’s Fire & Rescue Service and a former president of the Dundalk Lions Club.

She revealed that she had been approached by both Renua and the Social Democrats to run on their behalf but said she would not adhere to having a party whip.

Cllr Yore received 1,228 first preference votes in last year’s local elections, a figure only bettered by Sinn Fein’s Tomás Sharkey and Fianna Fáil’s Declan Breathnach.

She is well known as a founder member of Special Needs Active Parents (SNAP) and also sits on the boards of the Louth Volunteer Centre and the Louth Meath Education Training Board (LMETB).

Cllr Yore said she would be using her own savings to fund her campaign.

Candidates so far confirmed to be running in Louth in the next General Election are as follows:

• Sinn Féin: Gerry Adams and Imelda Munster
• Fine Gael: Fergus O’Dowd and Peter Fitzpatrick
• Labour: Ged Nash and Mary Moran
• Fianna Fáil: Declan Breathnach and Emma Coffey
• Renua Ireland: Michael O’Dowd
• Direct Democracy Ireland: Anthony Connor and Pat Greene
• People Before Profit: Garrett Weldon
• Independence Alliance: Kevin Callan and Maeve Yore

Huge confusion caused by N53 closure

Work beginning on the N53 yesterday as captured by Cllr Sharkey

Yesterday saw the N53 Dundalk to Castleblayney Road close for resurfacing and widening works with major problems caused for motorists along the road.

Last night local councillor Tomás Sharkey describing it as a “crisis day for traffic and public safety.”

The Sinn Féin representative accused the diversion routes of being inadequate to carry the increased load of traffic and said these routes were poorly signposted.

He feels the existing road could be traffic lighted as far as the next junction during the roadworks.

One road user described the diversion routes as “lethal”, while another said they were too narrow to take traffic.

The N53 is due to remain closes between Barronstown and Hackballscross until mid to late November.

The scene at one of the diversion routes yesterday as captured by Cllr Sharkey

Sharkey expresses concern over buses for school children during N53 upgrade

Cllr Tomás Sharkey

Local councillor Tomás Sharkey has expressed his concern that families in the Sheelagh and Hackballscross area are being left in the dark about school bus services in September.

With the N53 road due to be upgraded soon, the Sinn Féin representative has learnt that no arrangement has been drawn up to cater for children traveling to school.

He says this needs to be sorted as soon as possible.

Cllr Sharkey said: “The N53 will be upgraded over the coming months. I am working to convince officials to reverse their decision to close the road during works. In the course of my discussions with council officials I have realised that Bus Éireann and the council have not come to an arrangement as to how school children will travel to and from school during the works.

“I have spoken to a number of families who do not know what to do when it comes to buying bus passes. If the bus cannot run, there is no point buying a pass. If the bus has to take a detour, this may cause children to be late for school or even to have to travel by car to get the bus.

“This is yet another example of how the decision by officials to close the N53 has been badly thought out. Once again, I am calling for a rethink of this bad decision,” he said.

Management practices in Lourdes Hospital require scrutiny, insists Sharkey

Cllr Tomás Sharkey

Councillor Tomás Sharkey wants the relationship between HSE management in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital and private recruitment and staffing agencies scrutinised.

His comments come following a report last week that management at the hospital had spent more on agency staff than any other hospital.

Commenting on the matter, Cllr Sharkey said: “Last week The Irish Times reported on an audit report into how the HSE works with recruitment agencies. That report found that Our Lady of Lourdes did not use a competitive process to select some recruitment agencies. It also found that the proper documentation was not available relating to the filling of jobs through agencies or indeed the rates being charged by the private agencies.

“In the last 6 years €3.8m was paid out to two recruitment agencies even though no service level agreements were in place.

“I have been concerned about the outsourcing of services in our local hospitals and have made it clear to HSE management that the use of agencies to staff our hospitals is not value for money.

“In particular, I want an examination of the relationships between HSE management in our Lady of Lourdes Hospital and agencies. I have challenged HSE management to explain why they have actively promoted individual recruitment agencies for tenders in the health service and allowed these endorsements be used for publicity purposes.

“Too much money has been wasted using agencies instead of directly recruiting staff and I want to get to the bottom of what has been happening in Our Lady of Lourdes.”

Sharkey calls for investigation into Dundalk death

Raymond Hearty’s family made an emotional plea for the reopening of the Louth Hospital in the Argus recently

Sinn Féin councillor Tomás Sharkey has contacted the CEO of the Royal College of Surgeons Hospital Group in relation to the recent death of local man Raymond Hearty.

The 48-year-old passed away recently following a heart attack with his family speaking to local newspaper The Argus at the time appealing for the reopening of the Louth County Hospital.

Cllr Tomás Sharkey

Mr Hearty passed the Dublin Road hospital on his way to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda and they expressed their fears at the time that Raymond’s life could have been saved had he not had to travel the extra 20 minutes up the M1.

In a statement today, Cllr Sharkey said he had raised the matter with the RCSI group and said it was another painful reminder of the need for A&E services locally.

He said: “Louth County Hospital is part of the RCSI group within the HSE. Mr Bill Maher was appointed the CEO of the group some months ago. After the death of 48 year old Mr Raymond Hearty, his family questioned why the ambulance had to bypass Louth County Hospital to take Raymond to The Lourdes Hospital. They asked the same question that is on the lips of everybody in Dundalk.

“Raymond’s funeral heard a heartfelt appeal for services to be returned to Dundalk. I have contacted Bill Maher and asked for this case to be investigated. I want to establish the risk to life in having no A&E in Dundalk, the detrimental effects to patients who have to travel for longer to Drogheda and the logistics involved in re-instating services in Dundalk.

“The people of Dundalk campaigned and marched to oppose the closure of A&E, Intensive care and Acute Medical in Dundalk. We collected a petition of thousands of signatures. Numerous election candidates promised service re-instatement on their election. We were right to warn the HSE of the dire consequences of the closure of services.

“As a member of the HSE Regional Health Forum, I am committed to keeping the issue of services in Dundalk on the agenda and in the minds of HSE officials,” said Cllr Sharkey.

Sharkey encourages people to get involved in Dundalk Parkrun

Cllr Tomás Sharkey at last weekend’s Dundalk Parkrun

The second Dundalk Parkrun event takes place at Dundalk IT this Saturday morning at 9.30am.

Parkrun organise free, weekly, 5km timed runs around the world. They are open to everyone, free, and are safe and easy to take part in.

Local councillor Tomás Sharkey took part in the first event last weekend and was full of praise for the initiative.

He said: “Last Saturday morning was the first time that the Parkrun event was held in DKIT playing grounds. It takes place every Saturday morning at 9.30am and involves a 5km run, jog or walk which is timed.

“We had a brilliant time at the inaugural event. There was a fantastic atmosphere where everybody was encouraged to do their best.

“The true advantage of Parkrun is that everybody who registers online gets to print a barcode which is used to record your time each week. This means that you can track your progress.

“I want to praise the organisers and volunteers involved and all who took part and encourage everybody in the Dundalk area to come along on Saturday morning to enjoy a healthy start to the weekends.”

Further details are available at www.parkrun.ie/dundalk

Patients won’t be moved from St Oliver’s during refurbishment works

St Oliver’s

Louth County Councillor Tomás Sharkey has welcomed the news that patients of St Oliver’s Hospital in Dundalk won’t be moved during forthcoming refurbishment works.

There had been fears that people in St Oliver’s would be moved to private nursing homes while work was being carried out but the HSE confirmed today that residents would be moved to a “refitted area” while the work was ongoing.

This refitted area will be in use for a period of between three and four months

Maura Ward, Manager for Louth Services for Older People said: “We have considered a number of options with our Estates Department in order to accommodate our residents.

“As the registered provider nominee, on behalf of the HSE under the Health Act,  I am accountable for the care and welfare of residents in St Oliver’s.  With this option l am able to ensure that we are fully compliant with our legislative requirements in ensuring that the refurbishment programme is completed with minimal impact to the resident.”

“Maura added that: “We are very grateful to the Residents’ Forum proposal for the donation towards the cost of the refit of the day hospital to accommodate residents and we will be meeting with them to progress this matter.”

Cllr Tomás Sharkey

Councillor Sharkey said that “the refurbishment work is welcome and it is great that patients won’t be moved off site, keeping the community of patients, staff and families together.

“St Gerard’s ward in this hospital caters for dementia patients who have a high level of care needs. Their care is long term, built on routine and provided by a team of excellent staff. In order to meet HIQA standards this ward needs physical work to be carried out and that will happen soon.

“For 18 months now discussions have been taking place about how patients will be cared for during the refurbishment. From the outset, I called on the HSE to keep the patients under the care of the team they are used to and who know their needs best. We were worried that they would be dispersed to many private care settings across the region.

“I am delighted that the decision has now been made to take this course of action. Patients will be accommodated in a different part of the hospital during renovations. The refurbished St Gerard’s ward will be in compliance with HIQA standards.

“HSE staff who made this solution possible and made the right decision should be commended. Families and the resident’s forum have been through a lot of worry but this will be put at ease. Everybody looks forward to seeing the newly refurbished facility as soon as possible,” he said.

Plans for new Dundalk school moves a step closer

An artist’s impression of the new school

Plans to build a new post primary school in the centre of Dundalk moved a step closer yesterday after the news emerged that Louth County Council had secured a compulsory purchase order (CPO) for the final parcel of land required to build the school.

The proposed Coláiste Chú Chulainn school will be located opposite the Marshes Shopping Centre and will accommodate 1,000 students when fully operational.

The news was welcomed by Sinn Féin councillor Tomás Sharkey, who visited the site yesterday along with other council officials.

He said: “”Coláiste Chú Chulainn includes the gaelcholáiste Coláiste Lú and operates from Chapel Street in Dundalk. It is due to accommodate 1000 students. A site has been earmarked at The Marshes but there have been problems acquiring the site.

“This week Louth Meath Education and Training Board members visited the site at my request. Two hours before that meeting we received word that Louth County Council are now permitted to CPO the last bit of needed land. This is  mega news for the current and future school community.

“It will take some months to complete the process but building should start in a few months. The project will bring €10 million of construction work to Dundalk and when it’s complete there will be a lot of teaching and support staff jobs. The community will be relieved to see a vacant site developed and the illegal dumping problem resolved.

“I want to congratulate the management of the LMETB and former County Louth VEC but want to pay tribute to former board members such as the late Eamonn Kinch who supported my initial proposal to establish Coláiste Lú and hence apply for the patronage of this new school.”

An artist’s impression of Coláiste Chú Chulainn

Sinn Féin motion to remove chairperson’s allowance in Dundalk is defeated

Cllr Edel Corrigan

The chair of the Dundalk Municipal District Committee will continue to receive an annual allowance of €12,000 after a vote to remove it was defeated last night.

The sum was approved following last year’s local elections but Sinn Féin councillor Edel Corrigan looked to overturn that. However, her motion was defeated by seven votes to six after much discussion and debate.

The five Sinn Féin members on the committee – Cllrs Corrigan, Jim Loughran, Jennifer Green, Kevin Meenan and Tomás Sharkey – all voted to scrap the allowance and were supported by independent councillor Maeve Yore.

However, the remaining members of the committee – Cllrs Mark Dearey, Conor Keelan, John McGahon, Peter Savage, Declan Breathnach, Marianne Butler and Maria Doyle – opted to keep the allowance by voting against Cllr Corrigan’s motion.

Cllr Corrigan told LMFM this morning that she felt it was the people’s money and she could see no justification for such an allowance. She vowed her party would continue to oppose the allowance.

Commenting on the matter to Talk of the Town, Cllr Maria Doyle said: “Sinn Féin hold several chairs on both Municipal District Committees and Councils throughout the country, for which they receive sizeable allowances, and which they have not sought to abolish or even reduce.

“My argument at last night’s meeting was that they do not have a coherent national policy in relation to this issue and are only seeking to reduce the allowances on the Councils and Committees on which they do not hold Chair positions. Sinn Féin will soon take up the Chair of Dublin City Council which has an allowance of €65K on top of the basic salary. I won’t hear them seeking to abolish that.

“They currently hold the Chair on Dublin South Council and the Sinn Féin Councillor Fintan Warfield received an additional €30K for holding that Chair.  Finally, Sinn Féin Councillor Imelda Munster is currently Chair of the Housing SPC of Louth County Council which pays her €6K per annum in additional to her salary. That committee are obliged to hold only 4 meetings per annum.”