Lack of respite beds in Mayo's county town 'something shocking'

People seeking respite in Castlebar should not be forced to travel to Ballina or Swinford due to the lack of respite beds available in the county town.

Councillors in the Castlebar Municipal District criticised the lack of respite beds available in Castlebar which was forcing people to travel to Swinford or Ballina.

The monthly meeting of the Castlebar Municipal District heard there was just one respite bed in the Sacred Heart Hospital and this was nowhere near enough to cater for the needs of the people.

Fine Gael councillor Cyril Burke raised the lack of respite beds and said the town deserves a better service.

“There are 72 long stay beds and 27 rehabilitation beds in Sacred Heart Hospital and only one respite bed. This is a big town and there are a lot of people in this municipal district who deserve respite. It is one area which is lacking,” he said.

When Independent councillor Michael Kilcoyne challenged him to contact his party colleagues in government about it, Cllr Burke accused senior HSE officers of not doing anything to resolve the issue.

“Lots of members of this party in this county have applied a lot of pressure on some of the executive including Tony Canavan [CEO of Saolta Group] and Mr [Des] Mulligan [Head of Service Older People, Community Healthcare West] and Mr [Gerry] McCormack [Manager of Older Person Services HSE] in Roscommon and they are not making any moves to do anything. One more bed in Castlebar would make such a difference to these people. I think we are all in agreement to highlight this because this is a desperate situation,” he said, adding that the council should write to the HSE on the matter.

He was supported by Cllr Blackie Gavin, a member of the HSE Regional Health Forum West, who said that people in Castlebar should not have to travel outside the county town for respite.

“I know a person from this town who has been offered a respite bed in Swinford and Ballina. There is no way they will accept going down to Swinford or Ballina. I will back them 100 percent. I think it is disgraceful that people born and bred in this town have to go to Swinford or Ballina,” he said.

The Fianna Fáil councillor questioned if some of the HSE management in charge of older persons services have something against Castlebar.

“There are nine beds available in Swinford whereas there is only one in the Sacred Heart Hospital where €30 million was spent a couple of years ago. It is something shocking. The new Taoiseach knows about this and seemingly he cannot do anything. I second the motion to send a letter to wherever it has to go.

“The room is there and has plenty of space [for respite beds]. Never mind two beds, you would need ten beds for the people of this town,” he said.