MAYOR OF GALWAY WALKS OUT OF HEALTH FORUM MEETING

Date Published: 12-May-2009

Mayor of Galway Padraig Conneely walked out of this afternoon's meeting of the regional health forum following comments by HSE West director, Dr. Sean Conroy.Mayor Conneely walked out after Doctor Conroy told board members that he was tired of public representatives continuously running down the public health service.His comments came after Mayor Padraig Conneely,spoke out on a HSE presentation on proposals to manage the 2009 budget for the HSE West, with 30 million euro less of a budget than last year.Proposals to deal with budget allocations this year include a three percent reduction in administration and management, planned seasonal bed closures and a reduction from seven to five day wards across the HSE West.Councillor Conneely said that high powered management needed to take the brunt of the cuts, and not the staff on the ground.