BY MICHAEL BRESLIN
'We will not go away. We will fight to the last inch', was the war cry of one elderly resident of Drumhaw Residential Care Home at last week's well-attended public protest meeting in the Donn Carragh Hotel in Lisnaskea.
It was held to draw up an 'action plan' to fight the decision by the Western Health and Social Care Trust to close the Home by March, 2010 as part of an efficiency savings plan. Then Trust intend to relocate the residents – there are 30 there at present – in their own homes.
The meeting was jointly organised by brother and sister, Leo McElgunn and Maria Flynn whose mother, Maureen, a former employee of the Home, is one of the residents. She was also present together with staff, relatives, Benny Cassidy, representing the Unison, the health workers' union, elected representatives and interested parties. Among the latter was Canon Joseph Mullin, parish priest of Lisnaskea and Fr Ian Fee, the local Curate.
Mr McElgunn gave a simple introduction to himself and his sister to the 140-strong audience: 'Our mother is a resident in Drumhaw House. We are here to discuss the proposed closure of the House and to come up with a plan of action to oppose it'.
He then asked if there was anyone from the Trust present. There was no response.
Continuing, he said the Home had been in Lisnaskea since 1973 and had offered a high standard of care to its elderly residents, to those residents in its senile dementia unit and, also, respite care to those recovering from operations and illnesses.
He went on: 'The Trust are proposing to support people to stay in their own homes. That would certainly suit a lot of people but it's of no use to the current residents. They need residential care, so care in the community is not an option for them.
'Out in the community, elderly people only have Home help for one hour in 24 and the rest of the time they worry about being burgled and the like whereas Drumhaw House offers them an opportunity to retain 'community'. If this is taken away, then that 'community' is taken away as well.
'So, where do they go', he asked.
It was at this juncture that the meeting was made aware of a planning application in last week's 'Fermanagh Herald' by the FOLD Housing Association for a 30-unit supported residential care development in Enniskillen, at Drumawill, 15 of which is for people suffering from dementia.
'They're basically talking about Enniskillen, so if relatives live in Roslea, they will have a 50-mile round trip to visit their relatives'.
The meeting was also informed that Drumhaw House was not taking in any new admissions and that this meant respite care is no longer on offer ('it means a lot of people will be spending Christmas alone').
Reaction from the floor came thick and fast.
One MLA who was present (there was an apology from Arlene Foster), Gerry McHugh put his feelings simply: 'What you are seeing is the eviction of people out of their own homes'.
Canon Mullin commented: 'Drumhaw Nursing Home is part of our lives as priests working here. It is a very happy place and a happy place for us to come. That's not strictly talking about Catholics. It is very much an integrated place where you meet many people with different faiths and none.
'I was shocked to hear Drumhaw was closing. I want to register that and I have done that, and I understand the shock of those of you who have family members in it. Elderly people are very vulnerable'.
Benny Cassidy, representing Unison, the largest public service union in the health service, reported that his branch had complained to the Health Minister, Michael McGimpsey at the manner in which the health service was constantly changing, in this case as a result of the comprehensive spending review.
'There are 40 staff employed in Drumhaw, and there is the impact on them as well as on the residents. We are having to fight in places we haven't been in before. We're having to defend every single strand of the health service to prevent redundancies'.
He then recalled how the 'closure' news was broken to the staff in Drumhaw.
'There were five Trust representatives and as they spoke the staff thought they would get asking questions at the end but this didn't work out because they explained they had to speak to the residents. They could not afford more than half an hour to deliver such a message'.
Paddy Teague asked what would happen to staff jobs.
Mr Cassidy explained that staff would be redeployed, but that this could be at any facility between Enniskillen and Omagh: 'The Trust has a no redundancy clause, so they will do everything they can rather than make anyone redundant, so their option is they hope to give the people in Drumhaw other jobs within the Trust'.
The last word rested with Maria Flynn who, prior to the meeting, announced that 1,250 signatures had been returned that night with more to follow before the formal handing-over on Monday night in the Townhall at a meeting between Fermanagh Councillors and Trust representatives.
She stated: 'We are just concerned relatives and friends. We will give 100 per cent to try and stop this going forward. It's a disgrace it is even being proposed and we all need to stand up against it'.
