Survey reveals ‘phenomenal need’ for Carndonagh day services

The group calling for the restoration of day care services at Carndonagh Community Hospital says a survey shows there is “a phenomenal need” for the services which were stopped more than four years ago.

The group is continuing to call for a meeting with the minister of state for older people five months after more than 200 people attended a public meeting calling for the services to be restored. The group says more than 270 of the over 500 who responded to the online survey said they need the service for an elderly relative.

Chair of the campaign group, Tony Doherty, said the survey showed there was a “staggering need” for the services.

“We have an ageing population and the need for this post-Covid is probably greater than ever,” he said. 

He called on Minister of State for Mental Health and Older People Mary Butler to “reach out and engage” with the group. “It is a very, very strong mandate we have. The people have spoken and these services need to be reinstated as soon as possible.”

Successful year for Carndonagh’s Colgan Heritage

Colgan Heritage is holding its annual general meeting next month and is inviting new members to join

The day care services for elderly patients were suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic and have still not been reinstated while such services in other parts of the county have been restored. The Health Service Executive (HSE) has previously said it has identified “substantial deficiencies which cannot be mitigated against within the current footprint of the building” and that an “alternative location” is likely to be the solution. 

The HSE has written to Carndonagh councillor Albert Doherty in recent days saying that “a working group” on the hospital has met  “to prioritise services within the grounds of Carndonagh Community Hospital”.

The options that are being considered are capital works within the day services area, capital works on a different site, the possible use of the James Connolly Memorial building and the possible lease of facilities in Carndonagh.

Mr Doherty said the update had created “a small degree of optimism” for the campaign.  “It is qualified good news, but what we need very clearly is a timeline and they need to engage with us.”

Cllr Doherty said he had received the update from the HSE after he raised the issue again at the February meeting of the Regional Health Forum.

The Sinn Féin councillor said the “very effective and widely-supported community campaign” to restore services has had a significant impact.

“We are not campaigning for something that wasn’t there before. It is something that worked very, very efficiently, was very satisfactorily received and is very sorely missed.”

He said he is looking for “progress and timelines” for the restoration of the day services.”

The update from the HSE contains “small, positive steps that are coming out and I do believe that is because of my continued efforts on the Regional Health Forum but it is significantly as a result of the widespread demand from within the community for the restoration of services”.