EFFORTS are underway to
halt the closure of the gynaecology ward at
Letterkenny General Hospital. A Facebook campaign
called 'Save the Gynae Ward at LGH' has mobilised
hundreds of women across the county to contact their
public representatives and speak out, said Sinn Féin.
Deputies Pádraig MacLochlainn and Pearse Doherty
today issued a joint statement endorsing the women's
campaign.
"The reported closure of this ward is totally
unacceptable and has been understandably met with
outrage and despair by women across the county.
"This ward has rightly been described as a safe
haven for women who have suffered the pain of
miscarriage as well as providing a female-only
environment of support for women undergoing
surgeries such as hysterectomies, bladder repairs
and all the female cancers.
"We have already been contacted by women telling
their own personal stories of
how much this service means to them.
"We endorse the emerging campaign against this
closure. We stand with the women of this county
against what is an attack on their dignity at a time
of distress.
"We would encourage women across the county to back
the campaign and let their local Fine Gael and
Labour elected representatives know that they must
demand that their Government
colleague, Minister of Health, James Reilly,
intervene." Sinn Féin claimed the Minister had
issued directives to senior HSE officials and
hospital managers to "implement severe cutbacks with
no guidance as to what services are untouchable".
"This reported closure has moved beyond the
threshold of decency and must be reversed
immediately," said the deputies. |
