Patients deserve clarity over funding fears at Cobh Community Hospital
Relatives of patients in a cash-strapped community hospital which provides 24-hour nursing care have called on its board to make a statement amid funding fears.
They said they need concrete reassurances from the voluntary governors of Cobh Community Hospital in Cork about its funding levels and its future following revelations this week that it is under imminent threat of closure with claims it has just five weeks’ funding left.
The hospital, which was established in 1908 and which is overseen by a trust run by a voluntary board, is home to, or is caring for, 44 elderly residents. It has around 15 nursing staff.
The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) flagged its concerns about the hospital’s financial situation earlier this week, writing to local politicians and urging the HSE to intervene.
It prompted criticism from local Labour Cllr Cathal Rasmussen who accused the union of “sensationalising” the situation.
Accepting that while there are difficulties, he said the board has been working with the HSE for several weeks to resolve the matters.
He said the hospital gets Section 39 funding from the HSE through the Government Fair Deal Scheme but he said its allocation has always lacked parity with other Section 39 facilities.
“And that always catches up with them. There is no risk to the hospital. We had this a number of years ago also, but it will be resolved,” he said.
However, relatives said they’ve heard nothing official from the board and they want and deserve answers to give them peace of mind in relation to their loved-ones.
One relative told the that while front-line staff have been doing a great job, it has proven difficult to identify board members, let alone get answers from them.
The relative said the board did write to families ahead of HIQA’s publication in May of a critical inspection report on the facility, reassuring them that they were addressing the issues.
But the relative said there has been no contact since, and people concerned about the HIQA report are now even more concerned about the funding issues.
The HIQA inspection, conducted in January, found the facility had “failed to ensure that an effective and safe service was provided for residents” and that the governance and management arrangements were ineffective, inadequate and not robust.
Among the concerns flagged were how residents were left sitting at a table from 11am to 5pm waiting for activity to take place, that most residents were not facilitated to avail of the dining spaces or sitting rooms.
