Scairbh
Na
gCaorach
EMYVALE
Open Letter to Mary Harney.
Open Letter to Mary Harney TD.
Emyvale
Monaghan
14/11/10
Dear Ms Harney,
We, in the County Monaghan Community Alliance, were very disappointed at the secrecy surrounding your brief and expeditious visit to our County last week. Since you took office as Minister for Health and Children we have been trying to get an audience with you but your staff has constantly refused, stating that your diary is too full. When you were interviewed in Nenagh last week, after campaigners there tossed cheese and eggs at our vehicle, you reportedly said - 'I think it's a great pity that in a democracy people don't use the opportunity to put their perspective forward in a different way’. 'Politics is about choices, it's about argument and a debate’, you reportedly said, ‘It's not about engaging in public disorder offences or engaging in activity of that kind. I understand that many of those are politically motivated of a different persuasion than the mainstream parties in this country maybe that's part of the motivation.'.
Well Minister, would you not agree that by refusing to meet with us you are preventing debate? Would you not agree that you have denied us ‘the opportunity to put our perspective forward to you in a different way’? You narrow the options for those, like us, who do not agree with your policies. We are also anxious to know if you class us in that politically motivated group which is of a different persuasion than the mainstream parties? If you do then we must argue that you are wrong again as we have NO political alliance or allegiance, but just shear fear from the way you have exposed us by removing our emergency service from Monaghan General Hospital.
Your quick trip, four miles into our County, was a well guarded secret as the local media was asked to keep the visit secret until after you had exited from the county in safety but it was organised that a photographer was on hand to record the event to gain publicity for you afterwards. The question is – why have you always refused to visit Monaghan town and Monaghan General Hospital? When our extensions and refurbishments were being opened we had to do with lesser mortals.
However, it was your statement, while in Carrickmacross, that really rubbed salt into our wounds. Margaret Conlon TD is reported as welcoming your comments stating that you want to see more services ‘restored’ to Monaghan General Hospital. Imagine how we felt hearing that coming from the very same Minister who took those services away from us in the first place and from our TD who stood idly by while this was in progress. Perhaps ‘restored’ was a poor choice of words, as we should be talking - ‘clinics’ and ‘day services’ and ‘out-patients’. Enlarging the Rehabilitation Unit services and the Step-down Unit and having an extra clinic are great but our one main worry, concern and fear is not being addressed and that is our lack of proper emergency services. We were promised an advanced paramedic and enhanced ambulances. It matters little that the advanced paramedic, originally assigned to Monaghan, is now based in Castleblayney and has to cover North Louth as well as County Monaghan, because it is no substitute for the emergency and in-patient services which were taken from us. We were promised ‘better services’ but that did not materialise either and as a matter of fact instead of getting better they are getting worse and the problems, lack of access and mistakes are growing fast. Sooner or later you will have a catastrophe and ‘regrets’ and ‘sympathies’ will be the order of the day.
So Minister, from people who have no vested interest except concern for their own lives and those of their neighbours, we need to sit down with you to see how you can solve our emergency problem. Under the present plan there is always that doubt that a patient could have been saved or at least given a better chance of survival had the services been still available in Monaghan, instead of dying in an ambulance along the side of the road or shortly after arrival in a distant hospital.
We await your response.
Peadar McMahon
Chairman County Monaghan Community Alliance.