Health Authorities 'Walked Away' - Brain Damage Attack Brother

The brother of a man who was left brain-damaged and unable to recognise his own children after an attack five years ago has criticised health authorities for "walking away".

Mark McShane was attacked in Letterkenny and later had part of his brain removed.

Two men were jailed for the attack and are now serving five-year sentences.

Mark’s brother John has now said he lives on his own and struggles to manage everyday life.

He said: "Mark finds it pretty difficult to survive on his own.

"All the care that Mark gets is provided by his family, because as far as all those outside agencies are concerned, they seem to have walked away from him.

"Mark refused to go to a clinic on one or two occasions and it seems to be that no one ever contacted Mark to see if he wanted to come back.

"It's a lot of strain on my mother; it's a lot of strain on all of us because every day somebody has to do something for Mark, take him somewhere, cook for him, clean for him."

He said he would like to see the brain injury clinic do more to help Mark.

The Western Health and Social Care Trust said it could not comment on an individual case but that Mark's family could raise concerns about his treatment directly with staff or through its complaints system.

John also raised the issue of Mark's accommodation, and the Housing Executive said they would visit today to check if repairs were needed.

(NE)