Concern in Lahardane as locals face losing access to doctor
The people of Lahardane have demanded that the Minister for Health and representatives from the HSE attend an upcoming public meeting regarding the vacant GP position in the village.
A private community meeting, organised by the Rural Ireland Organisation, was held last Friday night in the Community Centre where around 100 residents met to discuss the future of the GP service in Lahardane.
The current GP, Dr Enda Loftus, is due to leave Lahardane at the end of the month to take up practice in Crossmolina. The vacant GP post has been advertised but so far, there has been no response to the vacancy that would see the incoming GP take charge of 800 to 1000 patients.
It will be the second time in five years that there has been uncertainty around the future of the GP service in Lahardane following the retirement of long-serving GP Dr Paul Nolan in 2018.
It was agreed unanimously to hold a public meeting and invite all sitting Mayo TDs and all councillors from the Westport, Ballina and Castlebar municipal districts to this meeting, as Lahardane borders with and has areas attached to all three MDs.
Gerry Loftus, head of the Rural Ireland Organisation, formally declared that the group were calling for this meeting.
“We are calling for a public meeting with all TDs and councillors from our local areas present. We would also demand that the Minister for Health or a representative from his department and a representative from the HSE be present to discuss this serious situation,” said Mr Loftus. He also called for the HSE to withhold from making any negative decisions regarding the vacant GP post until after this public meeting.
The community meeting heard of concerns that locals had around the departure of Dr Loftus at the end of September. This included how they will access medical care, with one woman remarking that she relied on being able to attend the local surgery as she doesn’t drive.
“Crossmolina might as well be Belfast for me,” she said.
Mr Loftus said that it is uncertain what local residents will have to do on October 1 to receive medical care in their local area. He said the Rural Ireland Organisation met with the HSE and made a submission regarding the vacant GP post and called for a satellite clinic to be in place at the local medical centre by October 1. He called on local TDs and councillors to make similar submissions to help resolve this situation.
Independent local election candidate Harry Barrett said that the people of Lahardane need to make local politicians aware that this is an issue which will heavily impact on voting at the next local and general elections.
“People need to realise that their vote is power and they have that power. You need to tell your politicians that your vote hinges on what they do about this,” he said.
Aidan Browne, a local resident hoping to be put forward for the local elections by the Social Democrats party, said that he knows first-hand how important local medical services are, having been a carer for his grandmother for three years. He said that the impact of Lahardane losing their GP service would be profound.
“Young or old, we all feel the loss of a doctor in the area. We are trying to keep the resource that we have,” he said.
Mr Loftus said it was clear that primary care facilities such as the one in Ballina was the future but people in rural areas are expected to travel 20 or 30 miles to reach them. He suggested that Lahardane should be home to a top-class primary care facility.
“Lahardane is in the centre of a vast rural area within 15 to 30 miles of Castlebar, Westport, Foxford, Bangor and Ballina. The Rural Ireland Organisation is calling for this proposal to be put on the table, it is time to get the ball rolling on this,” he said.
It was agreed that the public meeting would be scheduled to take place on either Thursday or Friday, September 21 or 22 at the Lahardane Community Centre at 8.30pm.
