One of the Ukrainian refugees, who is now living a few miles from Killaloe, has revealed his lucky escape from a missile that bombed a nearby dwelling in war-torn Kyiv. Alexander (61) from Kyiv is worried about the safety of his wife and son who are still in Ukraine and hopes they will be reunited with him in Killaloe. The taxi driver speaks to his wife and son regularly by phone. A dwelling near his own family home was demolished by a missile leaving him wondering how he could have been killed and was very fortunate to experience such a lucky escape. “It was just pure luck that I lived. It was terrifying to hear the whistle before the explosion. The war is very scary. I have a sister in Kyiv, the explosions are still happening there. It is terrible.” On April 19, a group of Ukrainians arrived in Killaloe and 26 of them are living in the Killaloe Boy …

SHANNONDOC has defended its service after official figures confirmed a drop in patient response times from last January to February when it treated almost 1,000 fewer patients. Figures obtained by The Clare Champion from the HSE through the Freedom of Information Act revealed 6,069 urgent and routine cases were seen by Shannondoc last January, which dropped to 5,074 a month later. In spite of seeing 995 fewer patients, 1,226 patients were seen within 30 minutes in January compared to 573 in February – a drop in percentage terms from 20.20% to 11.29%; 2,894 patients were seen within an hour in January compared to 1,685 in February – a fall from 47.68% to 33.21%; 4,403 patients were seen within 90 minutes in January compared to 2,780 a month later – a decline from 72.55% to 54.79%. The number of patients seen within two hours totalled 4,771 in January compared to 3,588 in February – a drop from 78.61% to 70.71%; 5,225 …

A hospital campaigner has claimed the reconfiguration of casualty services including the removal of 24-hour casualty cover from Ennis and Nenagh Hospitals has “failed dismally”. Addressing the hospital rally in Ennis on Saturday, Conor Reidy stressed people in the Mid-West need to protest on the streets for the upgrading of Ennis and Nenagh Hospitals as people could no longer be the government’s “guinea pigs” in their “failed experiment”. After outlining stories about his father Johnny Reidy’s colourful life, Mr Reidy claimed he was a “victim of the HSE” in his last months as an 89 year-old in 2018. The Nenagh Needs Its A&E Campaign representative recalled his father who was Type Two diabetic medical card patient was was often left waiting at the end of the queue at the Eye Clinic at UHL. When Mr Reidy queried a five-hour wait for his father one day, he was told by a clinic nurse that a senior medical person wanted the private …

CLARE people are afraid to go to University Hospital Limerick (UHL) due to chronic overcrowding and huge trolley numbers in the ED and corridors, a councillor has claimed. Councillor Liam Grant told a HSE West Forum meeting on Tuesday that patients were dying due to overcrowding in UHL and the longer a person waits on trolley for care the higher the risk of sickness or even death. Having visited UHL in his role as an emergency medical technician on a regular basis, Councillor Grant alleged there is a lack of dignity and respect treating patients in the hospital. “It has gone to the stage where people are afraid to go to UHL, which is a sorry state of affairs. Staff are exhausted and demoralised. “Elderly people are being moved on trolleys around corridors and hallways. They are scared, alone and are not being looked after properly. It is a sorry state of affairs the way we are treating elderly people …

UP to 15,000 people marched in Ennis in November 2003 to oppose the proposed downgrading of Ennis Hospital, which was recommended in the controversial Hanly Report. Last Saturday, a paltry figure of about 70 people turned up to listen to members of the Mid-West Hospital Campaign present a case for the return of a fully functioning Accident and Emergency Department to Ennis and Nenagh Hospitals. A lot of public representatives also decided to stay away. The attendance included Deputy Cathal Crowe, Deputy Joe Carey, Senator Timmy Dooley, Councillor Mark Nestor and Councillor Donna McGettigan. Despite the poor turnout, one of the main organisers, Noeleen Moran, was satisfied with the attendance when questioned by the Clare Champion. “We are getting this campaign up and running after two years of lockdown. It is not an easy thing to encourage people to be in crowds after Covid-19 but we are satisfied with the turnout today. “We only spent two weeks advertising this protest. …

INVESTMENT totalling €3.97 million for health facilities in Clare has been included in the 2022 Health Service Executive’s Capital Plan. The funding boost includes €1.7 million for Bushy Park residential addiction treatment centre to replace their existing facility and build a brand-new complex with individual accommodation for patients. In Ennis Hospital, €0.5 million is being spent on equipping the new outpatient department. This funding will also provide for an x-ray room and other diagnostic equipment. A sum of €0.3 million will be allocated to progress the development of two new operating theatres and €0.7 million will be spent on the continued development of the hospital campus to include the fit out of vacated areas in the existing building to create a Local Injuries Unit. In East Clare, €0.35 million is being allocated to refurbish an area of Raheen Community Hospital comprising of 25 beds and in St. Joseph’s Community Nursing Unit in Ennis, €1.05m is being spent on a new …

SEVEN Dáil deputies from different political groups joined a protest by Pat and Nuala Geoghegan outside Leinster House calling for new public inquiry into Rusal Aughinish Alumina’s environmental and health impacts. Three deputies – Paul Murphy, Matt Carthy and Mattie McGrath also raised grave concerns with the Taoiseach Micheál Martin about representations made to people conducting the €5.2 million Askeaton Health investigation. The protest was attended by Paul Murphy TD (People Before Profit), Catherine Connolly (Independent Group), Matt Carthy (Sinn Fein), Mattie McGrath (Rural Independent Group), Ivana Bacik (Labour Party), Willie O’Dea (Fianna Fail) and Peadar Tobin (Aountu). Catherine Murphy (Social Democrats) also offered support but couldn’t make it to the protest. In his speech, Paul Murphy brought to light new evidence, which he claims further discredits the previous investigation into serious animal and human health problems near the factory. The Geoghegans from West Limerick have regularly pointed to 18 medical samples taken during that investigation that went missing. Deputy …

HEALTH specialists from the HSE’s Performance Management Team have started a review of the management of the Emergency Department in UHL. Responding to questions from Senator Martin Conway at a Health Committee meeting this week, HSE chief executive Paul Reid said these specialists would be working with the clinical and management team to address issues at the hospital. Senator Conway asked Mr Reid what was his view on the need for an independent review of overcrowding in UHL, which has been requested by the staff and nursing unions. Mr Reid said the issues affecting the ED in UHL were different than Galway and didn’t support the call for an independent review as he felt their specialist team had the expertise to look at patient flow and other factors that are impacting on the hospital. National HSE acute operations director, Liam Woods said while the situation at UHL is not unique, he acknowledged attendance growth is one of the highest nationally …