The Chairman of the Oireachtas Committee on Health, Dr. Michael Harty; latter an Independent TD for the County of Clare, has stated he will support a vote of ‘No Confidence’ in respect of Fine Gael Wicklow politician and Minister for Health, Mr Simon Harris.
Infirmary bedstead designed by architect George Wilkinson in 1847, for the Thurles Workhouse.
The ‘No Confidence’, motion in Mr Harris has been proposed by Sinn Fein, following a number of failures in the department, under the governance of Mr Harris, which came fully to a head in recent weeks; most notably the Cervical Cancer scandal and the apparent significant cost overruns cover-up with regards to the construction of the National Children’s Hospital; latter funding for which has now caused delays in promised funding for Limerick University Hospital; same the most overcrowded medical facility in Ireland, servicing North Tipperary.
An angry and disappointed Dr. Harty, summed up his overall feelings describing the decision as; “Shocking news”; “An abysmal failure by government”; A dysfunctional health system spiralling out of control; further stated; “It is an indictment of both the Government, the Minister for Health and in particular Fine Gael TD’s in Clare and Limerick, who have failed to ensure that University Hospital Limerick is a properly functioning 21st century health care facility.”
New would-be Tipperary Fine Gael hopefuls, who sit with their tongues hanging out, in the hope of collecting large salaries and pensions into the future; e.g. Mrs Mary Newman Julian (MaryforTipperary who has set up a promotional stall in Liberty Square, Thurles) and Mr Garret Ahern, would do well to take note.
Dr Harty had previously indicated that he would abstain on the vote of ‘No Confidence’ in Minister Harris, to ensure the government did not fall in the run up to ‘Brexit’. However, the TD now says he has “lost trust in this Minister and this government”.
Interest Note: The now demolished old Thurles Workhouse was erected in 1841-2 on a 6.5-acre site, on the east side of New Street (now Racecourse Road). [For younger readers, same in later years became known as the Hospital of the Assumption].
Erected by architect Mr George Wilkinson, at the request of the then Poor Law Commission, the completed building, designed to accommodate 700 inmates, was based on one of his standard declared building plans for such building, and deemed fit for the reception of all local paupers on 25th April 1842.
Mr Wilkinson’s design for beds in the Thurles Workhouse infirmary and fever hospital in 1847, declared that they should be a minimum of 18 inches (45.72 centimetres), distant between each bed, (Remember the year was 1847).
In 2019, 172 years later, the distance between trolleys on corridors at Limerick University Hospital, are often less than 4 inches (10.16 centimetres) apart, as busy medical staff attempt to treat all attending patients, to the very best of their ability, leaving very little space for themselves to distribute their great and necessary skills.
Apart from our present government doing their very utmost to eradicate people living in rural Ireland, it is also obvious that when it comes to health, the people of North Tipperary are destined to remain in the dark and distant past.
Historians of the future will most surely ponder as to why a supposedly well educated people, residents of North Tipperary, failed to rebel, thus allowing this present calamitous and catastrophic health scenario to transpire.
Leave a Reply