Connacht Tribune
Galway native highlights critical shortage of neurology nurses
A Galway native offered an insight to the county’s TDs and senators last week of the reality living life with epilepsy – against the backdrop of a critical shortage in specialist nurses in the county.
Aoife Kelly from Belclare is both living with epilepsy and she is also a patient advocate, demanding proper services for those who live with the illness.
And she was part of a delegation led by the Neurological Alliance of Ireland (NAI), which held a briefing on the issue for Oireachtas members from Galway in Leinster House.
The NAI brings together 30 non-profit organisations to advocate for the rights of 800,000 people in Ireland living with a neurological condition.
Last October, they launched their Patients Deserve Better campaign to highlight the need for more nurse specialists in neurology in Galway and nationwide.
Based on local and international recommendations, they said that Galway University Hospital needs thirteen nurse specialists in neurology.
But as it stands, the hospital has just four – a shortfall of nine nurse specialists caring for people in Galway and surrounding counties.
Aoife was joined on the delegation by NAI Executive Director Magdalen Rogers; Professor Orla Hardiman, National Clinical Lead for Neurology; and Tony Wilkinson, a Corkman living with Parkinson’s Disease.
The patient advocates and representatives from the medical profession shared their experiences about the impact the shortage of nurse specialists in neurology is having on waiting lists and service delivery.
And they were unanimous in their opinion that nurses specialising in neurology are key to tackling waiting lists for neurology services and improving patient care.
Magdalen Rogers said they were pleased with the ‘strong levels of support we have received from TDs and Senators from Galway for our campaign’.
“Waiting lists for neurology services have increased by over 80 per cent since 2015. According to Irish and international best practice guidelines, we have an overall shortfall of 100 nurse specialists across neurology services,” she said.
“Nurse specialists in neurology are key to tackling waiting lists and improving outcomes for patients. We are calling on TDs and Senators from Galway to support our call to significantly increase the number of nurse specialists in neurology over the next five years, starting with Budget 2023,” she added.
Afterwards, Deputy Sean Canney said the current situation was not tenable, and he said the Minister for Health needed to ensure that the necessary funding is put in place to fill the capacity shortage.
“Patients with conditions such as Multiple Sclerosis, Epilepsy, Motor Neurone Disease, Spina Bifida, Parkinson’s Disease, Muscular Dystrophy, Stroke, Migraine and other conditions all are affected by the lack of the recommended Neurology Specialist nurses,” he said.
The Patients Deserve Better campaign is seeking investment to tackle the serious shortage of nurse specialists in neurology.
The campaign is working with people with neurological conditions including: the Parkinson’s Association of Ireland; the Irish Heart Foundation and the Alzheimer Society of Ireland.
(Photo: Deputy Sean Canney with patient advocate Aoife Kelly from Belclare at Leinster House).
Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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GARDAÍ and the IFA have issued a joint appeal to all road users to take extra care as the silage season gets under way across the country.
Silage harvesting started in many parts of Galway last week – and over the coming month, the sight of tractors and trailers on rural roads will be getting far more frequent.
Inspector Conor Madden, who is in charge of Galway Roads Policing, told the Farming Tribune that a bit of extra care and common-sense from all road users would go a long way towards preventing serious collisions on roads this summer.
“One thing I would ask farmers and contractors to consider is to try and get more experienced drivers working for them.
“Tractors have got faster and bigger – and they are also towing heavy loads of silage – so care and experience are a great help in terms of accident prevention,” Inspector Madden told the Farming Tribune.
He said that tractor drivers should always be aware of traffic building up behind them and to pull in and let these vehicles pass, where it was safe to do so.
“By the same token, other road users should always exercise extra care; drive that bit slower; and ‘pull in’ that bit more, when meeting tractors and heavy machinery.
“We all want to see everyone enjoying a safe summer on our roads – that extra bit of care, and consideration for other roads users can make a huge difference,” said Conor Madden.
He also advised motorists and tractor drivers to be acutely aware of pedestrians and cyclists on the roads during the summer season when more people would be out walking and cycling on the roads.
The IFA has also joined in on the road safety appeal with Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche asking all road users to exercise that extra bit of care and caution.
“We are renewing our annual appeal for motorists to be on the look out for tractors, trailers and other agricultural machinery exiting from fields and farmyards,” she said.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
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Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
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