'Future of St Vincent's is secure', council delegation told

A deputation of Athlone councillors has been assured by the HSE chief in the region that St Vincent's Hospital will not close. However, the council also heard criticism from one councillor over what she claimed was the expenditure of €1.2m per year on drivers for the Middoc out-of-hours general practitioners' service. The issues were discussed at Monday's Athlone Town Council meeting when Cllr Sheila Buckley Byrne reported back to the council following a meeting between HSE regional manager Joe Ruane and a council deputation made up of Cllr Buckley Byrne, Cllr Gabrielle McFadden, Cllr Aengus O'Rourke, Cllr Paul Hogan and Town Clerk John Walsh. She said the main issues discussed at the meeting were St Vincent's and the primary care centre. "I can confirm we got, with absolute clarity, assurances that St Vincent's will not be closed. Its to be the community facility for the elderly in Athlone. The plan is now to maintain and build on the services that St Vincent's gives," she said. Cllr Buckley Byrne said the deputation was told that admissions at St Vincent's had been closed but they would open again soon when beds became available. She said they had also been told that the primary care facility was underway with the developer and was being built on a PPP basis. Fianna Fáil's Cllr Aengus O'Rourke said it was a very worthwhile meeting and he was upbeat after it. He said they had received frank and comprehensive assurances on St Vincent's and it was not at risk of being downgraded in any way. "We spoke on a number of issues. We covered it all. It was very comprehensive and I found it to be a very honest meeting," he said. He said he had asked Joe Ruane if he would consider compiling a plan for health care for Athlone and he had agreed to work on this and by the end of the year a three-year plan should be in place. Cllr Kieran Molloy (FF) said he was always a bit doubtful about the HSE, despite its great officials and frontline staff. He said the last time the primary care was ready to go ahead it fell through and he asked if the funding was there and if the doctors had signed up for the facility. Cllr Kevin 'Boxer' Moran (Ind) said he had said at the last meeting that they were scaremongering. He said he was annoyed that a deputation had met with Joe Ruane and rather than reporting back to the council first he had heard about it on the radio. He said there should be protocol in place to stop this from happening. Answering Cllr Molloy's questions he said the money had been put up by the developer and said the doctors had signed up. Cllr Gabrielle McFadden (FG) said, like Kieran Molloy, she had been sceptical in the past about HSE officials but they had pressed Joe Ruane on the matter and he said St Vincent's would not be closed. She said he had also said that two of the beds in the hospice could be used for respite if they were not needed for palliative care purposes. However, Cllr McFadden raised concerns about the cost of drivers for the MiDoc service, which she said cost €1.2m a year, despite only 8% of calls to the service resulting in a house call. She said there were such things as Sat Navs and if a doctor needed to go out on a call he/she should not need a driver. She said this was a waste of money and she had written to Mr Ruane to get clarification on the costings and to ask if this money could be put to better use. Cllr Paul Hogan (SF) said that having dealt with the HSE on the Loughloe House issue he wouldn't be jumping up and down about reassurances but said that Mr Ruane had said St Vincent's wouldn't close. He added, however, that he believed the primary care building could be delayed and said the money Cllr Moran was referring to wasn't guaranteed. Cllr Mark Cooney (FG) said he welcomed what was said and the fact that the service would continue but said the councillors would have to keep a very close eye on it. She said he shared Cllr Moran's concerns regarding deputations speaking to the media before coming back to the council with a report and said there should be a protocol to be followed. Cllr Moran said he was annoyed to hear Cllr McFadden's remarks about the drivers and said doctors shouldn't be getting stressed in finding a house and then expected to see a patient. He said he also wouldn't like to see jobs lost. Cllr McFadden said it was a waste of money and she didn't want to see jobs lost either. "I thought you were a business woman," Cllr Moran said to her. "Why doesn't your company tender for it?" she responded. Labour's Cllr Jim Henson said he cautiously welcomed the response from Joe Ruane and said he hoped everything was as it sounded. Cllr Buckley Byrne said Athlone had already taken its hit with the loss of Loughloe House and said she was reassured about the safety of St Vincent's. Mayor Alan Shaw said it was reassuring for the residents and said he hoped what had been discussed with Joe Ruane would come forward. The councillors also agreed that deputations will report back to the full council before speaking to the media in future.