Nurses unable to access palliative care patients as salting policy under scrutiny

Donegal County Council's salting policy in Letterkenny with claims that a carer was prevented from accessing a palliative care patient this week due to the condition of an estate.

Temperatures plunged to sub-zero levels, forcing the closure of schools and the cancellation of some services.

Concerns have been raised about the distribution of salt in the Letterkenny-Milford Municipal District .

Letterkenny-based Sinn Fein Councillor Gerry McMonagle has said that discussions about the distribution of salt during inclement weather to estates and footpaths are needed.

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“I don't think people take into account the size of the town, the amount of footpaths, the businesses and estates that are here,” Councillor McMonagle said.

“Footpaths are impassable and businesses will suffer.

“Carers have been in contact to say that they couldn't access their patients and we see people walking on the roads to avoid the footpaths.

“Anyone with mobility issues is left housebound.

“The policy we have would put people off looking for salt bins. Yet, people aren't able to get out of their houses.

“We should be trying to get a tractor and snowplough to every estate in the town if it is needed. We can't put a monetary tag on this; we have to think about what we can do to assist and help people.”

Councillor McMonagle called on the Council to explore the provision of extra salt bins. He was told that it could cost €165,000 for 500 bins with maintenance costs of upwards on €100,000 thereafter.

Councillor McMonagle said: “A wee bit of common sense would go a long way. We cannot keep staying within this budget as the place gets bigger and bigger.”

The motion was seconded by Councillor Jimmy Kavanagh.

“Nurses have had trouble seeing palliative care patients and some haven't been able to. We need to look at ways of gritting the footpaths. It's a problem when people can't go about their day-to-day business. We need a plan.”

David McIlwaine, a Senior Executive Engineer with Donegal County Council told Tuesday's Letterkenny-Milford MD meeting: “Every resource goes into the winter maintenance programme, but there are limitations. It isn't possible to get to them all as we have to focus on the main arteries.”