Dublin - Event Notice
Thursday January 01 1970

Protest at Crumlin Children’s Hospital against hospital ward closures

dublin | rights, freedoms and repression | event notice

Monday May 11, 2009 00:27

by People Before Profit Alliance - People Before Profit Alliance

Protest at Crumlin Children’s Hospital against hospital ward closures- the first of three this summer.
Tuesday May 12th at 6pm

Protest at Crumlin Children’s Hospital
Tuesday May 12th at 5.45pm

HSE hospital network manager John Bulfin stated in a letter to Crumlin Children’s Hospital in January: “Savings should be targeted to ensure frontline patient care services are appropriately maintained.”

This is what he means by maintaining appropriate patient care services.

· Because of a forecasted deficit of €9.6 million, three wards will shut down this year, starting with St Joseph ’s due to
close on May 14th with two more to close in July and August.

· There will be over 7,000 fewer in-patient bed days at the hospital this year. Theatres will also close and there will also be
a 15 per cent reduction in day case activity along with a 15 per cent reduction in outpatient activity.

· Two “play” specialists will be lost on May 14th. These specialists are crucially important for many children.

· It is expected that the contracts of 17 household workers will not be renewed in May. There will be cuts in agency staffing
and in staff holding temporary contracts, and also in overtime and on-call payments.

In other words, the State’s largest children’s hospital will not be open for our children this summer. Operations will be cancelled. If a child breaks an arm/leg what will happen?

This is a step too far – our wages have been cut and a lot of us are losing jobs but when our children’s health and lives are put at risk we have to take action and take it now.

The HSE must not be allowed to put its accounts before our children’s welfare.

Parents, children, hospital workers must come out on May 12th. We will organise the immediate next steps from the protest to stop this lunacy.

Ends

Issued by the Save our Crumlin Children’s Hospital Campaign

Contact Cllr Joan Collins 086-3888151 or Tina MacVeigh 086-8715293