This article is from page 18 of the 2008-05-13 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 18 JPG
PEOPLE are afraid to attend hospi- tals for treatment, fearing they may contract a hospital-acquired infec- tion such as C-diff or MRSA.
That is according to Fine Gael Dep- uty Pat Breen who said that he has met with people too afraid to go for treatment.
‘I had one elderly woman call me who said she was going to stay at home rather than go to hospital for her surgery. This is a genuine fear that is in the community,” he said.
The Ballynacally man said that he
has met with numerous people with similar concerns, most of them eld- ee
‘Confidence in the health services have been eroded,” he said.
Deputy Breen does not share the fears with others however that the outbreak of C-diff discovered at En- nis General Hospital will be used as an excuse to downgrade the facility.
“IT hope the misfortune of others will indicate to the HSE and the min- ister how urgent the upgrade is, and that it is needed now,” he said.
Deputy Breen along with the other three Clare TDs and the county’s
mayors will meet with the Minister for Health this Thursday to discuss the future of the hospital.
“IT am hopeful that there will be good news after that meeting,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Fine Gael Deputy Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs claimed that those caring for people outside of hospitals are still getting a raw deal.
He is now urging the Government to review the financial supports available to carers and recognise the invaluable contribution they are making to our communities.
‘The majority of carers are women and the biggest single problem they face is the fact that in order to qualify for any allowance, they face a means test.
“Under the present system many of those carers do not quality for the payment on the basis of their part- ner’s earnings and in many cases when they do qualify they are of- fered derisory amounts.
“In my view they should be indi- vidually assessed for Carers Allow- ance and the carer’s partner’s income should be excluded from the means test,’ he said.