Anger in Cork over lack of long-stay beds in community hospitals
CorkmanCork councillors have called for more long-stay beds in community hospitals across the county, saying people have a right to be cared for close to home and not miles from their communities and loved ones.
At this week’s meeting of Cork County Council, Cllr Ann Bambury brought forward a motion calling on the council to write to the health minister and the chief executive of the HSE to take urgent action to increase bed capacity at Bandon Community Hospital and other community hospitals throughout the county.
“In Bandon we now have the most highly populated town in West Cork and yet our community hospital only has 25 long-term care beds, four of which are respite, and this is entirely unacceptable given the demographic reality and the pace at which our population is aging,” she said.
“The expectation that people should remain living in or near their community for as long as possible is now firmly established as good social policy. I had a grandfather who unfortunately was not able to secure a bed at a local community hospital and had to go further afield. That's the lived reality for so many families and having to make the decision to place a family member into full-time care is one of the hardest choices any of us will ever have to face,” Cllr Bambury said.
Describing the reliance on the private sector to provide places for older people as unsustainable, the Social Democrats councillor called for community hospitals to be properly staffed and to be given the bed capacity to meet current and future demands.
The motion was widely supported by other councillors. Cllr John Collins said he has been making representations for a man who lived just 100 metres from Bandon hospital but is now being cared for in Dungourney in East Cork.
“His wife drives past the hospital four times a week and looks in and says to herself, all the fundraising they did during those times [for Bandon hospital]. And then she has to drive down to Dungourney three or four times a week, which is very unfair,” Cllr Collins said.
Cllr Daniel Sexton said the problem is “all over County Cork, it's not just Bandon. I’ve been making representations for a gentleman in a nursing home 40 kilometres away from his home, which is very difficult for the family to come down and to visit him. And it's obviously contributing to loneliness for people as well, they don't see as many visitors because they're so far away from their home area.”
Cllr Danny Collins agreed that “something has to be done to increase beds throughout all areas because we have people who are being sent to Kenmare and Macroom away from West Cork and this is not good enough for these elderly people,” while Cllr Ger Curley said the 44 long-term beds in Cobh were reduced to 22.
Cllr Isobel Towse stressed the need for more respite beds across the county. “I have family carers coming to me who are completely burnt out from the toll of 24-7 care of their adult children with intellectual disabilities or their partners or parents who are living with dementia and so on because there is just such a lack of respite beds,” she said.
The council agreed to write to the health minister and the HSE chief about the issue.