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Consultation to begin over closure of Ballinasloe unit
Galway Bay fm newsroom – Junior Health Minister Kathleen Lynch has agreed to start an intensive consultation process around the closure of acute beds at St Brigid’s Hospital in Ballinasloe.
A deputation met with Minister Lynch in Dublin last evening following a major protest in Ballinasloe last weekend.
The Health Service Executive is planning to close the 22-bed acute care mental health unit at St. Brigid’s in Ballinasloe.
However, the HSE says the closure will take place on a phased basis and will mean just 7 beds are taken out of the Galway/Roscommon mental health service in the long term.
Minister Lynch told the meeting she wanted the best services for the region, but in delivering the ‘Vision for Change,’ it’s inevitable that some acute beds would close.
Junior Minister and Galway East TD Ciaran Cannon says the consultation was exactly what was needed to reassure people about the future of mental health care services in the region.