Senator Nicky McFadden is calling for the Sexual Assault Treatment Unit at Mullingar hospital to be moved to a permanent location in the hospital, after a report found that its temporary location has contributed to a “limited service”.
The Senator is to raise this, and the lack of adequate staffing for the unit, in the Senate next Tuesday, after becoming concerned that the service may face downgrading or movement to another hospital.
The first annual clinical report on the country’s Sexual Assault Treatment Units (SATUs ) found that the temporary location of the Midland SATU in the hospital’s urodynamics room prevents full service during office hours three days a week, for two hours on Thursday evenings, and on an additional Thursday afternoon once a month. A new permanent location has been identified within the hospital, but a date has not been fixed for the move.
According to the report, “The designated space is used as an office, storage room, and clinical room for STI screens, and for forensic clinical examinations. The toilet and shower facilities are not adjacent to the examination room and the location is not discrete within the hospital.”
Staffing levels are also deemed to be inadequate. When the SATU opened in February 2009, eight doctors and one clinical nurse specialist (CNS ) were available; currently five doctors and one CNS are available. Some 51 people attended the unit during 2009.
“This reduction in the number of available doctors has led to weekend cover being provided by four of these doctors only, which is not adequate,” says the report, which also outlines that due to the embargo on recruitment it has been difficult to recruit additional staff for the facility.
Responding to the report, Senator McFadden called for the unit to be moved to the permanent location which has been identified within the hospital.
“I warmly welcome that 51 people were able to be seen in the locality without having to travel to Dublin or another facility,” said Senator McFadden.
“However I am fearful for its future in Mullingar when we consider that the postmortem facility was transferred to Tullamore. I am also concerned that the moratorium on hiring will be used as a way of downgrading the service.
“There is enough room at the hospital and it is a state-of-the-art facility which covers a huge catchment area I would urge them to relocate to the designated location.”
