January 2016 Issue 1 - Volume 17
FRIENDS OF CASTLEBAR SUPPORT MELISSA PATTERSON FUND
2 Night Escape including Bed & Breakfast and One Evening Meal on a Night of your choice for 2 people
SLIGO NURSING HOME DEFEATS STORM DESMOND
16 PAGE HOUSE & HOME FEATURE
Overcrowding crisis in north-west, too! W
ONLY €89PPS Natural gas flows (finally) from Valid 1st November 2015 to 15th March 2016 Includes some close out dates
controversial Corrib field
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The 30th December was a truely historic day for Erris when Corrib gas started to power homes and businesses across Ireland. Shell's Operations Technicians Frank Carey, Belmullet, Vincent Geraghty, Drum, Binghamstown, and Inver’s Liam Doherty and Production Co-ordinator Bambi Barnes from Alberta, Canada, pictured operating the valves which commenced gas production at the Bellanaboy Bridge terminal. See Page 6 for full story. (Picture Henry Wills)
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HILE Minister Varadkar might contend that the overcrowding situation in our public hospitals is improving his assessment was cold comfort last week for many in the north-west who required hospital care and may have had difficulty in accessing it. While these hospitals may not be directly affected by this week’s proposed work stoppage by INMO members the situation last week highlighted how volatile the service is. On Monday of last week, according to the INMO, 36 people were on trolleys at Mayo University Hospital in Castlebar, the third highest in the country. There were 20 in a similar position in UHG and 19 at Sligo Regional Hospital. In a statement on Monday week hospital management in Castlebar said the emergency department was extremely busy over the weekend and again on Monday, with a high number of patients requiring admission. All available beds were in use at the hospital and, due to the pressure on the ED, it had been necessary to accommodate patients in the Medical Assessment Unit, Day Surgery Unit and the Medical Day Unit. It is understood the situation improved later in the week and the numbers on trolleys dropped significantly, but the hospital was forced to defer all non-urgent surgery for the remainder of last week to accommodate additional medical patients. They were also making use of community services and nursing homes to release pressure. With the numbers of patients on trolleys nationwide still numbering close to 500 the Minister, assessing the situation last week, maintained the overcrowding situation is better than this time last year and it will take a number of years to fix the problem. Continued on Page 2
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