Charities get 'Liveline' cabins Mater declined

Three fully fitted cabins, which listeners to the RTÉ radio programme Liveline had hoped to donate to the Mater hospital in Dublin to relieve pressure on its A&E department, were instead given to charities working in the health field yesterday.

The Mater hospital declined to take the cabins, worth over €10,000 each, by the deadline set by the show of 2.45pm yesterday, saying good planning in health services could not be done under time pressures.

Instead the cabins were given to three charities: Merchants Quay Ireland, which works with drug-users; Kare, which works with people with an intellectual disability; and the Irish Association for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus (IASPH).

All said yesterday they were "absolutely delighted".

In recent days callers to Liveline have been offering to provide the cabin space after patients at the Mater A&E described the extent of overcrowding. The callers included the Cabinpac company, Nilfisk and Siemens.

Janette Byrne, of the Patients Together organisation, who had telephoned the programme about the conditions at the Mater, said that yesterday was a day of mixed emotions.

"We are happy to see these cabins go to such good causes, but we are kind of sad, too, when you see what they could have done," she said.

Businessman Ben Dunne contributed €10,000 per cabin. Each of the cabins, which were parked yesterday beside the RTÉ radio centre, could comfortably accommodate seven hospital beds, according to Cabinpac manager Damon Ackland.

Mr Ackland said the cabins had been fitted out to a superior specification. The company would be paying to transfer them to the charities.

Merchants Quay Ireland will be using its cabin at its residential rehabilitation centre in Tullow, Co Carlow, as a dedicated counselling space.

Kare will be using one at its facility in Blessington, Co Wicklow, enabling it to take two more referrals.

The IASPH will use its cabin at its national resource centre in Clondalkin, Dublin, to provide space for its summer programme.

A spokesman for the Mater applauded the huge level of good will shown by Liveline listeners but said it was "not that simple" when asked why the hospital had not taken up the offer.

"Good planning in health services cannot be done under pressure like that being forced on us by the Liveline programme-makers," he said.