Protest in Waterford over geriatric ward closure

MORE THAN 40 people took part in a silent protest outside a psychiatric hospital in Waterford city yesterday, the location of Labour Relations Commission talks involving the HSE and four unions, against the closure of a ward in the city’s only geriatric hospital.

Members of trade unions Unite, Siptu, the Irish Nurses’ Organisation and Impact joined members of the Waterford Congress of Trade Unions and the Friends of St Patrick’s outside St Otteran’s Hospital on John’s Hill in the city.

Lunchtime protests have been carried out daily at St Patrick’s Hospital, also on John’s Hill, for the last six months against the closure of the 19-bed St Bridget’s ward there.

Yesterday’s three-hour morning protest was aimed at highlighting the issue further and did not obstruct the running of the hospital, Waterford city councillor Davy Walsh said.

The protest occurred almost three months after Seán Brett, a 51-year-old man from Ferrybank, ended a nine-day hunger strike at the hospital. Mr Brett, whose 90-year-old mother Bríd is a patient at the hospital, was at the protest yesterday.

Mr Brett ended his strike in May following an agreement between the parties arising out of a civil action instigated by the HSE.

The executive maintains that the closure was vital for “health and safety reasons”, while this has been criticised by staff and the Friends of St Patrick’s. The executive has said it plans to build a new 50-bed community nursing unit as a replacement for St Bridget’s.

However, campaigners say the HSE has not ringfenced funding for the new facility and that an exact location for the unit has not been formally identified.

Hundreds took part in a protest march in May over the planned closure.

John Grant (82), from Cathal Brugha St in the city who is a former patient of the hospital and who was protesting outside St Patrick’s yesterday, said: “Why would you close something that is already an enormous success?

“Everybody here is happy with it [St Bridget’s]. You’re not just talking about Waterford here; you’re talking about Clonmel, Dungarvan, Kilkenny, all around here.

“There are a lot of fine hospitals in the country that do a lot of fine things but this hospital is entirely geared for looking after old people.”

Mr Walsh added: “They are moving people out of St Patrick’s Hospital into private nursing homes – that’s privatisation.

“But this is where you have all the facilities of a hospital.

“We’re fighting to retain the facility that we have, it’s an excellent facility and there’s a waiting list of almost 300 people to get in here.”

A HSE spokeswoman yesterday said it was “not appropriate for the HSE to comment on the ongoing Labour Relations Commission hearing as regards St Patrick’s Hospital”.

However, the HSE has previously said that no existing patient in St Patrick’s Hospital would be moved to accommodation elsewhere.

In May, a spokeswoman said patients in St Bridget’s ward on the first floor would be moved to ground-floor accommodation as beds became available.

The HSE has said its decision arose as a result of new standards laid down by the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa), which came into effect in July. “St Bridget’s ward could not achieve the standards laid down in the Hiqa guidelines,” added the spokeswoman.