Pringle: Is Government seeking privatisation of health services by stealth?

By Thomas Pringle
Updated: 24th May 2023

Independent TD for Donegal, Thomas Pringle, questioned whether Government is seeking privatisation of health services by stealth, as he again called on Government to invest in diabetes services in the north west.

Addressing the Dáil on Tuesday, Deputy Pringle said: “The current waiting lists for Sligo and Letterkenny hospitals are completely unacceptable and many of my constituents have reported long waiting times and understaffing in both hospitals. These hospitals are buckling under the strain following years of neglect and lack of investment into the north west.

“The Irish Hospital Consultants Association recently warned that the growing shortage of essential acute hospital beds and consultants in the west and north-west region is resulting in waiting lists for treatment that are impacting on patient outcomes – what a surprise. The government’s inaction on this is an absolute disgrace, and unfortunately that’s not a surprise either,” he said.

The deputy said: “I was disappointed to learn about the recent resignations of consultant endocrinologists for adult diabetes services in Letterkenny University Hospital. One of these resignations came from a new consultant endocrinologist who only began working in the hospital a few weeks ago. What does this say about what it’s like to be a consultant in Letterkenny? There are obviously deeper underlying issues to be dealt with here and I would urge the Minister to seek these out and address them as soon as possible.”

He said: “Another consultant who has recently resigned has worked at the hospital for many years and so his absence will create a significant hole in adult diabetes services provision. This is incredibly concerning and it raises questions about the level of care now available for adults with diabetes in Donegal.”

Deputy Pringle said: “I have been raising my concerns about diabetes services in the north west with the Minister for over a year. The lack of investment is completely unacceptable. Sligo University Hospital has been seeking funding to provide insulin pump services in their hospital for the last two years, however due to a lack of funding they are still unable to hire a specialist nurse to provide the service. This is yet another example of the north west being left behind.

“People with diabetes shouldn’t be at a disadvantage just because they live in the north west,” he said, urging the Minister to ensure a short-term and a long-term solution for the people of Donegal and further investment for diabetes services.

The deputy was speaking in support of the Sinn Féin motion re Hospital Waiting lists.

Deputy Pringle said: “We also need to address issues with our ambulance services and the list of what we need to address could go on and on, as has been outlined by other members as well here during this debate. Ambulance service, primary care services – all impact on hospital services, because if patients can’t get to see a GP, if they can’t get services outside of the hospital, they end up going to accident and emergency.”

“So the whole thing has to be dealt with,” he said.

The deputy said that, unfortunately, it appeared the Government was preparing the privatisation of health services.

Deputy Pringle said: “It’s interesting that while Letterkenny hospital is losing consultants left, right and centre there are more private hospitals opening up in Letterkenny to facilitate CAT scans and everything else that’s required. So what is actually the programme here? Is the programme privatisation by stealth? Because that certainly seems to be what’s happening across the board.”