PDs’ billboard campaign launch hijacked by parent
Health Minister and former PD leader Mary Harney unveiled the poster, highlighting her record since taking over as minister in October 2004.
The poster claims that A&E departments have improved, that there are shorter waiting times and that Ireland has cleaner hospitals since Ms Harney became minister. The slogan on the billboard reads: “Now let’s finish the job”.
However, Con Kennedy, a young father from Castleknock in Dublin intervened at the end of the launch at St Stephen’s Green in Dublin. He said his son Nathan suffers from the rare condition of anaphylaxis that leaves him vulnerable to extreme allergic (or anaphylactic) reaction.
“Why is there no full-time paediatric immunologist in Ireland at the moment,” asked Mr Kennedy, who added that his son’s condition had been misdiagnosed for two years because of the shortfall.
He said he had to carry two shots of epinephrine (adrenaline) with him at all times, and that his family members needed to have eight in reserve to ensure that he does not suffer from an allergic reaction.
He also said, in order to treat Nathan’s condition, a consultant is paid to come over from Britain, two or three times each year.
“There was a budget surplus of €8 billion last year. This is ridiculous,” said Mr Kennedy. “Extreme allergic reaction is on the increase. There has been a 500% increase in fatal allergic reaction since 1950 in Ireland .”
In response, Ms Harney said the Government was keen to recruit an extra 1,500 consultants and accepted there were huge shortages. She said that would occur following conclusion of the talks with consultants, the deadline of which is later this month. She also pointed out that the Government has decided to build a paediatric hospital in Dublin, which would deal with conditions such as that of Mr Kennedy’s son.
At the campaign launch, Ms Harney got a ringing endorsement from her successor as leader, Tanaiste Michael McDowell who said he wished that she continued as health minister if the PDs were returned to government.
When it was put to her that the job she took on two and a half years ago was unfinished and that some claimed she had failed in tackling the problems in the health service, she strongly disagreed.
“There has been enormous progress in the health service and any fair commentator would acknowledge that,” she said, adding that a commentator in the Medical Times wrote she had achieved more than the combined work of the five previous ministers.
She referred to hygiene, to shorter waiting times, to her co-location plan for private hospitals, to new powers to allow nurses prescribe medicines and the new Pharmacy Bill.
“The aim is to have a world class health system in Ireland ,” she said while accepting it would take time. “All of that is underway, it will take another four or five years before we see the kind of healthcare system they have in other European countries.
“That’s what I aspire to that this country can have. We have done it with the economy. We can do it with the health as well. Remember it took ten years for the economy to be turned around.”
