Mac Lochlainn says Letterkenny hospital must be upgraded from Model 3 to Model 4 claiming Donegal ‘discrimination’
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00:00Minister, you would have received correspondence late last year from over
00:0780 GPs in Donegal and over 20 consultants about their concerns about
00:12Letterkenny University Hospital. I know you met with them and you would have
00:16heard face-to-face the serious concerns they had and part of the correspondence
00:22they would have revealed to you that when you look at Letterkenny, it's a
00:27Model 3 hospital. The reality is it should be upgraded from a Model 3
00:30hospital. But comparing Letterkenny with all other Model 3 hospitals in the
00:35States, we are clearly discriminated against. We're failed by the block
00:39funding and I'm asking you to please look at that correspondence again. They've
00:44renewed it in recent days and they're demonstrating clearly again that we need
00:50to look at Letterkenny in terms of the funding model. That's what the core issue
00:54is in terms of why we don't have a nurses, doctors and beds that we
00:57require. But what I wanted to raise here today specifically from the
01:02correspondence is the intensive care unit. We have a very serious situation
01:07with only five critical care beds, one extra for overflow, no high dependency
01:14unit, a single isolation room, there's no clinical information system and
01:22there's a lack of an electronic clinical information system and there was a
01:27recent examination and there's clear concerns about it. So they've put forward
01:33in their correspondence to you an interim arrangement but it's
01:38needed to provide for 10 intensive care beds there to address on a temporary
01:45basis what they're facing. So that's an immediate ask and I'm asking you
01:49Minister, you have the correspondence to seriously consider. I'm also asking you
01:53to look at this funding model and to consider maybe if Letterkenny should
01:58be upgraded to a model four hospital.