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Donegal hit by nursing cuts
15.12.08
MAJOR cuts in the
student nurse intake in Letterkenny and the wider
North West have been slated by a local MEP.
Marian Harkin MEP said the cut in student nurse
places in the region was higher than the national
average.
“In the North West, undergraduate nurse education
places had been slashed, with Saint Angela’s in
Sligo cut by 25% for general nursing and 40% for
Intellectual Disability nursing," said Ms Harkin.
“This compares with an average 16.5% cut across the
country and is unacceptably discriminatory.
“Together with the cuts in Castlebar and
Letterkenny, the student nurse intake in the North
West would reduce to a level which would cause
severe problems in the face of an ageing population
and an increase in chronic illness throughout the
region." |
The North West MEP last
week facilitated a number of health care
professionals to attend the launch in Brussels of a
European Commission consultation called ‘A Health
Workforce for Europe’.
“According to the EU, we should not be filling gaps
by recruiting (nurses) from poorer countries.
"Ireland is going directly against EU Health policy
by cutting |
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the numbers of training
places for nurses. The problem facing nursing is
that education funding comes from the HSE while all
other third level education is financed by the
Higher Education Authority which means that nursing
education takes a double hit from the HSE and the 3%
third level cuts," added Ms. Harkin.
She called on Health Minister Mary Harney to
reinstate the intake of student nurses in Sligo,
Castlebar and Letterkenny as a "vital measure in
ensuring the future health prospects of the people
of the North West". |
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