This afternoon, while on dialysis in Tullamore, I had a visit from the hospital’s complaints manager, Brendan Reddy. He told me he was very impressed with the letter that I had written, especially how it was framed and referenced. I joked that I should get a gold star for that.

Brendan told me that my letter had been very timely. He has had some good news about the issue: the creation of the post has been approved.

However, we are not there yet. Social workers by their nature need to be supervised, and as only one has been approved for the hospital, there has had to be some creative thinking on how the governance will be done. It is hoped that this will be in place soon, to allow recruitment in the New Year.

I am to remind the clinical nurse manager about the issue in early January. If other actions are needed, they can be arranged.