A SERIES of measures required to secure the success of the South West Acute Hospital in Enniskillen have failed due to the cuts implemented by the former Conservative Government, according to the new MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone.
Pat Cullen, who was previously the General Secretary for the Royal College of Nursing, told the Fermanagh Herald that action was now needed to redress the impact of years of austerity.
A decade ago, as Director of Nursing at the Public Health Agency, she was involved in the commissioning of the hospital.
“The South West Acute Hospital was contingent on investment in money year on year, and not to be subject to efficiency savings year on year,” she said.
“It was contingent on making sure that we are able to bring in the best and highest skilled and best healthcare staff, particularly in medical staff and it was also contingent on having the proper road infrastructure enabling people to travel from the South West Acute Hospital to other hospitals, for example in cases where you had stroke patients.
“Many of those things failed as a consequence of Tory austerity, where if you look at road infrastructure not having being progressed. The finance to all of our health services has been totally decimated and you can see that with thousands of vacant nursing posts in the north and us really struggling to hold on to expert consultant medical staff.
“So, all of that has had a significant impact on how we run our services.”
Ms Cullen, who as Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, led the largest nursing strike in a demand for better pay and working conditions, has called for unified healthcare services across the island of Ireland. She said this was needed to make hospitals and services viable.
“We need to make sure that people get the right care at the right time and with the right expertise available to them,” she added.
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