A two-bed hospice unit for terminally ill cancer patients and their relatives in Castlebar,Co Mayo, has been closed for a number of months because of the failure of the Western Health Board to fill the position of Medical Officer.
The unit, jointly funded by the Western Health Board and the Mayo/Roscommon Hospice Foundation, and located in the Sacred Heart Hospital in Castlebar, has been unavailable for a number of months now because of a recruitment problem.
The issue has been highlighted by Fine Gael spokesperson on Social Community and Family Affairs, Mayo TD Mr Michael Ring.
Mr Ring has sought clarification from the Western Health Board as to why "this outrageous situation is continuing".
"There are 5 palliative care/hospice beds in total in county Mayo and at present only 3 are open to patients and their families. Both beds in the specially designed unit at the Sacred Heart Hospital in Castlebar have been closed for months. Some patients have had to go out of the county to get the care that should be available to them in the county town. The people of Mayo and Roscommon have responded heroically to various appeals for support for the hospice movement and it's not good enough that these beds are unavailable, because of an administrative crux", the deputy said.
Western Health Board Manager, Noel Brett says the Castlebar unit has been closed for some months "because of the absence of a medical officer who is in a position to accept medical responsibility for the beds".
He said that the Western Health Board in conjunction with the Mayo/Roscommon Hospice Foundation had made a number of efforts to recruit a medical officer.
He explained, "that to date, our efforts have failed. The board will advertise the position again in the near future".