Sir, - So the Minister of Health has approved the transfer of elderly patients from general hospitals to "step-down" facilities such as nursing homes. To free hospital beds for whom? Whizz kids? Will the "step-down" in turn become "downsizing" or "wipe-out" later on?
Do health-board inspectors ever arrive unexpectedly day or night at nursing homes? At best they will see patients placed in chairs around the four walls of a room gazing into eternity with no mental or physical stimulation. Are all so-called nursing homes subjected to unexpected inspection? The elderly ill cannot stand up for themselves.
A consultant geriatrician described the facilities in the Meath Hospital as equal to the black hole of Calcutta. They are a scandal. I have visited patients there and come away depressed, having sat in the patients' room with the window at ceiling level showing just a patch of sky. Our senior citizens deserve better. They are the people who were told to tighten their belts and work hard for the sake of the country. Now, in our days of prosperity, they are going to get "step-down" treatment.
Beside Mr O'Morain's informative report was the heading "TDs' trip to Rio cost nearly £23,000" for a period of four days. Enough said! - Yours, etc.,
D Downes, Dublin 3.