Politicians have failed Bantry Hospital

EDITOR – I would like to state how sad and disillusioned I felt on Sunday at the meeting in Bantry about the hospital. Politicians ‘spouting off’ about what they are going to do – a worn out record of what they have been saying for many years.  All talk and no action!   

This week we hear there is a locum consultant filling a role until September – a bit like getting the ‘substitute teacher’ in to fill a gap.

I would also like to question the logic of putting ill and elderly patients through a gruelling and sometimes painful journey of up to seven hours to the north of Ireland for treatment. 

Surely some politicians’ energy would be better channelled into ensuring that these services would be readily available in our own area?   Not to mention the loss of valuable income to our own medical services and even making it easier for the government here to ignore the need for such services.

These ‘centres of excellence’ being developed in our cities could take hours to reach – especially travelling to CUH from West Cork.  Not to mention the pressure it puts on the already overworked ambulance service, (now controlled by Tralee I believe).

We DEMAND that Bantry Hospital be developed into our own ‘centre of excellence’ for the south west. We had a fully operational hospital 40 years ago, with surgical, maternity, A&E and other services.

God help anyone with life threatening injuries that is transferred to CUH – they could die on the way – or, worse still, in the ambulance, waiting to be admitted. 

I have a daughter who would not be alive today were it not for Bantry Hospital 40 years ago. God bless the wonderful caring, dedicated and amazing medical staff in Bantry Hospital who work tirelessly to give the best possible treatment to patients with the limited resources available to them.

Mícheál Martin, as Taoiseach in your own county, and our elected politicians, you should all be ashamed of yourselves. It is in your power to restore to Bantry Hospital a fully equipped and staffed medical assessment unit and provide the necessary consultants, without delay. We want our former ‘centre of excellence’ back!

Anything less, and you have all failed us.

Angela Muckley

Bantry

BGH loss would be ‘terrible blow’

EDITOR – It will be a terrible blow to West Cork if the Bantry General Hospital (BGH) faces closure at this time with all the EU money that’s available to the government to upgrade and employ more staff.

You cannot expect a consultant to be run off his feet 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so they have taken the decision to suspend admissions.

This is not acceptable to the people of West Cork who will have a long trek to CUH, especially if they are sick and in need of urgent medical care.

The hospital said it has struggled to attract suitable qualified staff and will not be able to return to ‘normal’ until at least September, despite advertising for vacant positions.

Noel Harrington

Kinsale

Africa needs our help

EDITOR – AS countries in the West take steps to kick-start their economies following the devastation of the coronavirus pandemic, it’s critical that we don’t lose sight of the global nature of this crisis.

This month, it is estimated that some countries in the West will have stockpiled over 1.9bn more vaccines than they require to innoculate their people. Meanwhile, in Africa, not much more than 1% of populations are fully vaccinated.

We think that that is unjust, and are asking for support from the people of Cork for a petition seeking controls on large scale stockpiling of vaccines until the poorest and most vulnerable have been protected.

We are writing to the Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney, to his counterparts in the US and the UK, and to the heads of the UN and of the World Health Organisation (WHO) – and would like your support.Right now, Africa is in the deadliest stage of the Covid-19 pandemic, with hospitals across the continent filling up, under-resourced medical services stretched thin, and deaths jumping by up to 40%, every week.

The pace of vaccination remains far slower in Africa than elsewhere. Some estimate that only one in five in Africa will be vaccinated in a years’ time if stockpiling continues, and there is not a rethink on distribution.

Protectionism and stockpiling will only prolong the pandemic for everyone, and heap suffering on the world’s poorest and most vulnerable. To sign our petition visit: selfhelpafrica.org

Ray Jordan

Chief executive

Self Help Africa

Dublin 8

Research into 50s culture

EDITOR – I am conducting PhD research into youth culture in Ireland in the 1960s and 1970s and am looking for people born between 1940 and 1965 to speak about their experiences, especially recreational activities, the relationships between young men and women, and between them and their elders. Please contact me at [email protected].

Annika Stendebach, M Ed

PhD Candidate

International Graduate Centre for the Study of Culture (GCSC)

Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen

Alter Steinbacher Weg 38

35394 Gießen, Germany