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by Caoimhinn Barr, Inishowen Independent
AN Inishowen doctor says he has genuine fears for
the future of people’s health here after the grim
news that all the receptionists at the NowDoc centre
in Carn are to be redeployed elswehere in the
county.
Dr Steve McNally said the move could endanger the
lives of very ill people in emergency situations
here. He said the NowDoc receptionists were trained
to make the right decisions in crisis situations.
Under the new system the emergency health care
centre will only house a doctor and a driver. It
will lie empty if the duo are on a call-out
elsewhere in the peninsula. Patients arriving at the
NowDoc will have no access to the building as a
result.
Worryingly, Dr McNally said that he could think of
at least one instance in the past few years in which
a patient would have died if the NowDoc centre had
been unmanned.
“If the doctor is away people will have to sit
outside in their cars until he or she comes back. If
the receptionists were there they could assess the
patient and decide whether to call an ambulance or
call me back to the centre. Many times they would
have quickly called me back to say there was a more
serious patient in the NowDoc waiting room,” he
said.
“The receptionists were the first contact that the
public had with the NowDoc and they provided a
fantastic service. They were trained in first aid,
CPR and some had defibrillator training. They also
provided support and guidance for families in
distress. Their loss will be a great one to
Inishowen,” he added.
The move will make the NowDoc centre all but
redundant in serious situations since ill patients
could now be rushed to an empty building by
concerned relatives.
Dr McNally aired his concerns as Inishowen TDs,
Charlie McConalogue and Pádraig MacLochlainn
continue to lobby for the service to be maintained
in the peninsula.
Meanwhile, Dr McNally urged members of the public to
first phone the NowDoc in Letterkenny (1850 400 911)
before making future journeys to the NowDoc in Carn. |
