AMPUTEES in need of limb-fitting in Cork are being treated in a 30-year-old prefab building which has to "be seen to be believed", it has been claimed.
Cork Fine Gael Senator Jerry Buttimer says the limb-fitting clinic at St Finbarr's Hospital in the city has panels missing, roof timbers and fascia boards rotting, broken windows and an extraction fan held in place with a bucket.
Whilst the prospect of relocation is under examination by the HSE, Senator Buttimer says it is an undignified injustice to those who are forced to attend the clinic.
"To paint a picture of this prehistoric 21st-century clinic for amputees is to tell of wall panels missing, roof timbers and fascia boards rotting away, windows unable to be opened because of gaps, blinds unable to be pulled down, an Xpelair missing with a bucket holding it in and an altogether unsuitable pedestrian access."
The HSE says the building has reached the end of its useful life and is examining the possibility of relocating the clinic to another site in Cork in conjunction with the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Dún Laoghaire.
It is hoped that the discussions will be concluded at the end of this month.
Senator Buttimer is sceptical of the HSE's ability to meet that deadline. "A new building is urgently needed, not more committees and reports," he said.