ABOUT 800 people attended a public meeting in Waterford to voice their anger and concern over the proposed closure of a 19-bed ward in the city’s only geriatric hospital.
A rally in the city centre and a petition that will be circulated in the region are the next stage in the campaign to save St Brigid’s ward in St Patrick’s Hospital, which the HSE wants to close for “health and safety” reasons.
Families of patients and former patients, and members of Waterford City Council, including Mayor Jack Walsh, were at the meeting on Wednesday night. They were addressed by a number of speakers including local doctor Eithne Brenner, who is supporting the campaign to save the ward, and Waterford-born Fair City actor Anna Manahan, who spoke about the excellent care she received at the hospital.
“We were absolutely delighted at the turn-out at the meeting and it is full steam ahead now to make sure this decision is reversed,” said Margo Flavin, spokeswoman for the Friends of St Patrick’s group.
“We are working on a petition . . . It will be displayed in supermarkets and also in the city hall. We’re also thinking of a street rally for the public in Barronstrand Street. We will not be letting the HSE go ahead with their plans. Meetings have also been requested with [Minister for Health] Mary Harney and Prof Brendan Drumm.”
At a meeting last week with Mr Walsh and members of the Regional Health Forum (South), HSE management was adamant that it was going ahead with the closure of the ward in July.
And in response to Wednesday night’s meeting, it issued a statement saying there were firm plans on the table to build a new community nursing unit, with 50 beds, to replace St Brigid’s ward.
It added that there were no plans to close St Patrick’s Hospital either now or in the future. “In fact, St Patrick’s Hospital will remain the centre of public residential care for older people in the city,” said local health manager for Waterford, Dermot Halpin.
Meanwhile, responding to claims that the closure will reduce the number of long-stay beds in Waterford to just 72, Mr Halpin said there are more than 750 beds available in Waterford and south Kilkenny. He also maintained that the closure of the ward was for health and safety reasons. “Our first concern is for the elderly patients themselves,” he said.
The Friends of St Patrick’s Hospital and local politicians believe the closure is nothing more than a cost-cutting measure.