AN ISOLATED Irish island with 140 residents will be left without a nurse for ten whole days as an warning to pick up prescriptions has been issued.
The islanders on Toraigh, also known as Tory Island, were recently informed by the HSE that there would be no resident nurse on the island for ten days.
This means that 140 islanders will have no access to the medical staff during those ten days and will need to travel 14km by boat to the mainland if medical assistance is needed.
And it takes approximately 45 minutes to an hour to reach the shores of Co Donegal, depending on the weather conditions.
Toraigh Island is serviced by two full-time nurses who rotate their time on a fortnightly basis.
However, the HSE memo informed the residents that there would be no nurses available on the island starting at 1pm yesterday for ten days.
It also mentioned that residents who need to pick up their prescriptions were urged to grab them before 1pm yesterday as it would not be possible to get them during the ten days of no service.
In case of an emergency, the residents are urged to contact their General Practitioner or NowDoc after surgery hours during the ten days.
Marjorie Carroll, Toraigh’s Cooperative manager, revealed on RTE Drivetime that it was the longest time she could remember that the island had been left without a nurse.
She said: “The nurse is an essential service on the island. Unfortunately this seems to be occurring too many times.
“Last October we were left for six days without a nurse. Again, now in February, we’re left now for ten days. The same thing happened this time last year and unfortunately it’s like Groundhog Day here again.”
Marjorie stated that no medical services are available on the island during the nurses’ absences.
And she also expressed concerns about a medical emergency on the island as they have to ring their own GP or NowDoc on the mainlands and seek assistance from the Coast Guard helicopter.
She continued: “If anyone should take ill now at the moment, then they have to ring their own GP or the NowDoc like you would do if you were living on the mainland.
“But we’re out here, nine miles off the coast, and should anyone get sick or anything on the island like we have no one to call on now, apart from the Coast Guard helicopter.”
ONGOING ISSUE
It appears to be an ongoing issue for several years and they are urging the HSE to add a third nurse to the rota to prevent medical service disruption.
Marjorie added: “We just seem to be getting absolutely nowhere with this issue.
“Basically, what’s needed is a third nurse to be allocated to the island, so they could cover when the other nurses are off on an annual leave…
“It’s difficult for the HSE then to be able to get cover. They said to us yesterday they were going to work on this going forward.
“I really hope for all of our sakes that they will be working on this.”
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