The HSE chief for acute hospitals in the mid-west has confirmed that they plan to go ahead with plans to close the facilities at both Nenagh and Ennis General Hospitals.
John Hennessy also confirmed that certain acute medicine services will also be transferred from Nenagh and Ennis to the mid western regional hospital in Limerick.
He denied however that this was a further downgrading of services at Nenagh and Ennis.
Fine Gael’s Deputy Noel Coonan has again expressed deep concern that the Hospital is becoming a shadow of its former self as it is continuously stripped of services that are traditional to any hospital.
Nenagh Hospital
The Fine Gael TD was reacting to a HSE announcement that the Intensive Care Unit in Nenagh Hospital will close in 2010 and other acute medical services will be transferred to the Mid Western Regional Hospital in Limerick.
“Nenagh General Hospital has already lost too many vital services and now it’s losing its Intensive Care Unit along with other acute medical services. Transferring the A and E department from Nenagh to Limerick was heralded as a genius idea but we recently saw nurses at the Mid Western Regional Hospital in Limerick go on strike because of overcrowding at the facility. This was partly due to the closure of the A and E in Nenagh and subsequent overflow of patients coming from North Tipperary to Limerick.
It’s clear that the hospital at Dooradoyle is struggling and the HSE is putting a further burden on the facility by transferring more services from both Nenagh and Ennis hospitals. If this is the concerned reaction of front line staff who are worried for patient safety, I want to know what plans HSE management have to deal with the overcrowding issue?
Nenagh Hospital is not a hospital in the traditional meaning of the word. Minister Harney is no longer even a member of a political party yet she controls the HSE which is one of the most important bodies in the country. This time last year, the hospital had in excess of 100 beds but today there are only 52 inpatient beds available.”
Deputy Coonan previously asked when the new surgical theatres promised for Nenagh Hospital will materialise, as promised in the Mid-West reconfiguration programme.
“It’s important that there is no delay in providing the theatre facilities because they are essential to the continued survival of Nenagh Hospital,” concluded Deputy Coonan.
Recent alarming statistics released show that the number of people waiting more than six months for a test to detect if they have bowel cancer has risen and the number of patients in the Mid Western Regional Hospital, Limerick has more than tripled, from 23 to 72, since September last.
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