‘INNOVATION, EXCELLENCE AND KINDNESS: THE BACKBONE OF OUR HEALTHCARE SYSTEM’
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Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly praises healthcare staff for their ‘extraordinary dedication’
t is a privilege to be able to speak to you in this Christmas edition of Health Matters. Since my appointment as Minister for Health in July 2020, I have had the honour of seeing first-hand the extraordinary dedication, commitment and expertise of all of you, Ireland’s healthcare workers. When our professional lives are most difficult, we rely heavily on our friends and family for support, and yet, in the last 20 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, you haven’t been able to meet friends, you haven’t been able to go out for dinners or even hug some of your own family members. While coping with this upheaval in your personal lives, you’ve been front and centre in Ireland’s response to COVID-19. You’ve worked long hours, in difficult circumstances to do what’s necessary to keep people safe. You’ve dealt with incredibly stressful situations and you’ve done it with professionalism, and you’ve done it with pragmatism. You’ve always put the most vulnerable first, even if it meant personal suffering for you. You’ve done all this while also coping with your own personal responsibilities and trying to keep yourselves and your loved ones healthy and happy. Some of you are grieving after losing loved ones and colleagues to COVID-19, and I would like to take this opportunity to offer my sincere sympathies. Many of you are worried about those who are close to you that are vulnerable to COVID-19, and some of you are worried about your own health. To all of you for everything you’ve done, I want to say a heartfelt thank you. In the last few months, it has been a pleasure to be able to meet with many of you in different locations, getting a front row view of the innovation, excellence and kindness that is the backbone of our health care system day in and day out. I have visited hospices, maternity units, trauma centres, community care settings and many more. On these visits, it is clear that the key principles of Sláintecare are being embraced and delivered - I see a healthcare service
10 | HEALTH MATTERS WINTER 2021
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly during a recent visit to the Midwifery-Led Unit at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda.
which is providing timely and accessible care to everyone in our community. In September on a visit to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, I saw their impressive Midwifery-led maternity unit and was fortunate to meet a number of their highly skilled Advance Nursing Practitioners. It was inspiring to hear about how their advanced training is assisting in the treatment of people in their own homes, and also leading to more efficient diagnoses
and shorter waiting times. In Roscommon, I officially opened the Roscommon Palliative Care Support Unit and walked through the fantastic services in Roscommon University Hospital. It was wonderful to meet so many teams delivering high quality care including the impressive Endoscopy Unit team and Urology team. The innovation at work in Roscommon and the commitment to patient care is brilliant to see.
