The CEO of the Cystic Fibrosis Association of Ireland, Philip Watt, welcomes the statement made by Tánaiste Mary Coughlan today that the delayed Cystic Fibrosis unit at St Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin is going ahead.
“CF Patients and their parents in St Vincent’s were becoming increasingly anxious because the government is flagging substantial cutbacks in our overall health services in the forthcoming budget. This announcement should ease concern. Unfortunately because of previous delays and promises, many people with CF will only be fully reassured when the building contract is signed and they see bricks and mortar”
He continued “There are also other issues that concern our parents and patients in hospitals around the country. The HSE is not replacing key frontline CF staff on maternity or sick leave and this is a growing problem that is threatening the health of our patients. Children with CF in the Mid West Hospital in Limerick attending out patients were without a physiotherapist for 4 months. It took a significant amount of lobbying by the CFAI to get an interim physiotherapist in place.This is completely unacceptable. We would call on the government to exclude CF associated staff from all staff recruitment embargoes, including replacement of staff on maternity and sickness leave”
