A BUDGET OF €10 million has bee allocated to rebuild Letterkenny General Hospital after it was destroyed by floods earlier this year.
A public meeting of the Board of the West/North West Hospital Groups in the town today heard that the €10 million will repair eleven key areas affected by the flooding.
On 26 July, about 57mm of rain fell in 15 minutes and a nearby river burst its banks, wiping out about 40 per cent of the hospital’s floor space, impacting the Coronary Care unit, Emergency Department, Radiology Department, Haematology Oncology Ward, Laboratory, Main Out-Patient Department, Cardiac Investigations, kitchen and dining facilities and Medical Records & Office Accommodation.
The hospital lost about 70 per cent of its capacity in the disaster. A temporary Emergency Department opened less than one month later on 17 August with much of the equipment being rented.
The total cost of the flood damage is expected to reach above €30 million when taking into account the cost of renting temporary accommodation and equipment such as CT scanners.
A design team has already started plans for the rebuild, which will include a €250,000 culvert to protect against any further flooding.
Management have advised that service capacity and flexibility will remain disrupted as staff continue to rely on temporary and offsite facilities.
“In-patient and out-patient waiting list targets at both Letterkenny and Sligo will be adversely affected and plans are being developed to address this,” said General Manager Seán Murphy.
It is hoped that insurance will cover the cost of the rebuild but the Department of Health and the HSE have made commitments to return the hospital to full capacity. In some areas, it will be better than before the incident, according to chief executive of the hospital group Bill Maher.
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