Pringle, Flynn, criticize HSE for leaving Ardara community without answers regarding GP appointment
- Updated: 14th August 2024
Independent TD for Donegal, Thomas Pringle, and independent Senator Eileen Flynn said the lack of response from the HSE on plans to appoint a new GP for Ardara is unacceptable and unfair to the community.
Deputy Pringle said: “Dr Mirelle Sweeney announced at the end of May that she had handed in her resignation to the HSE. Her last day is August 22nd. Yet the Ardara community, Dr Sweeney, and her staff and patients have yet to hear from the HSE on how and when her role will be filled.
“The HSE told me about two weeks ago that a response to my questions regarding plans for Dr Sweeney’s successor was on its way. I have still heard nothing from them. This is very bad practice from the HSE, to leave the community without answers for so long.
“We’re looking for the HSE to be open about the status of the search for Dr Sweeney’s successor and plans for continuation of the service. Continuing to leave people hanging is unfair and unprofessional,” he said.
Senator Flynn said: “Dr Sweeney has given 29 years of invaluable service to the community. I contacted Minister Stephen Donnelly last week to see if he could get answers on plans for her successor, but I haven’t yet received a response.
“There is worry in the community in the absence of information. People who work in the surgery are unsure if they are going to have a job in little more than a week’s time. It’s not right to treat people this way. The HSE must be respectful of Dr Sweeney, of the staff at the health centre and of the people in the community who have gone to Dr Sweeney for so many years.
“It has been more than two months since Dr Sweeney announced her plans to resign. It is unacceptable for the HSE to continue to leave people in limbo regarding how this important service will be staffed in order to continue serving the community,” she said.
