*A section of the crowd at the public meeting in Newmarket-on-Fergus. Photograph: Joe Buckley
NEWMARKET-ON-FERGUS needs a medical service fitting of its big and growing population, a public meeting has heard.
Over 200 people packed into the smaller hall in the community centre on Monday evening while the larger bingo hall remained vacant. Such was the crowd that there was a spill over onto the main street.
Organised by the Newmarket-on-Fergus Community Forum which itself was formed in January 2020 off the back of a public meeting in December 2019 fighting for the future of medical services in the locality in the aftermath of long-serving GP, Dr Colm Hackett’s retirement.
Since June 2020, rooms in the daycare centre of Carrigoran Nursing Home has been the location of the medical practice in Newmarket-on-Fergus. This current arrangement is to conclude in September posing threats to the future of the GP service in the parish. The retirement of Dr Hackett in May 2019 after forty two years working as Newmarket-on-Fergus’ GP led to Saffron and Blue Medical Centre receiving a contract from the HSE to provide a GP service from Carrigoran.
Politicians present at the meeting included Clare TDs, Cathal Crowe (FF) and Michael McNamara (IND), Joe Carey (FG) was represented by his parliamentary assistant Ger O’Halloran with Violet Anne Wynne (IND) absent. Senator Timmy Dooley (FF) was the only representative of the Upper House present with Senator Martin Conway (FG) and Senator Roisin Garvey (GP) not at the engagement.
Cllr Pat McMahon (FF), Cllr John Crowe (FG), Cllr Donna McGettigan (SF) and Cllr Pat O’Gorman (FF) were the local representatives in attendance.
Disappointment was voiced by locals including Kathleen Donnellan on the absence of a representative from Saffron and Blue or the HSE from the meeting.
As observed by Clare TD, Cathal Crowe (FF) there was a sense of “déjà vu” as the fight for a GP in the village kicked off again.
Local pharmacist Joe Varden of Varden’s Pharmacy told the meeting of the importance of keeping the GP service. He was forthright in explaining the departure of a doctor would have a big financial impact on his business and warned it could lead to the potential loss of jobs in the locality, particularly in the pharmacy.
Chairperson of the Community Forum, Paddy Enright said they were “very supportive” of Carrigoran who have agreed to extend the use of their facilities until September. “We need a GP in the village, our optimum situation is to have it as near as possible to the pharmacy. If you’ve to commute to Carrigoran are you as well to travel to Clarecastle, Ennis or Shannon”.
He told TDs it was “fiercely important” to acknowledge the size of the parish. “Population wise, we’re twice the size of Tulla and Scariff, if they can have a GP and it is no slight on either parish then Newmarket-on-Fergus should be able to hold down a GP service”.
Recurring battles for health services in Newmarket-on-Fergus cannot continue said David Griffin, the Stonehall man is a parliamentary assistant to Senator Fiona O’Loughlin (FF) and is hoping to secure a nomination to contest next year’s local elections in the Shannon Municipal District. “We’re not the first community affected by the loss of a GP, Rathangan is a small town in South Kildare with a population of 2,000 people, they were in the exact same situation, a town with no doctor but in that case the HSE came in”. The result was the addition of a primary care centre with a public health nurse, a permanent GP and mental health services. He argued that there was no reason why the same scenario could not be replicated in Newmarket-on-Fergus. “We can’t go around this roundabout every four or five years. The HSE have a duty not to put us on a cliff edge”.
Officials in the HSE have not been proactive on the matter, Triona Marren O’Grady stated. “What is stopping the HSE from being proactive and consulting with us as a community, there is a lack of consultation but why is it back to us to make it happen”.
